The Vanquisher of Grindelwald
by Charlie Waffles
Summary: Tom Riddle is prophesied to vanquish and/or surpass the Dark Lord. Will he become the savior everyone expects, or will he become someone to fear even more? (Reframes the canon. Ignores Fantastic Beasts and Cursed Child. Expected completed length: 40-50 chapters. Eventual Tomarry.)
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I obviously own nothing. This story is fanfiction. This disclaimer applies to all chapters of this story.

Author's note: This story is rated M primarily due to violence. Reviews are appreciated and are responded to privately when the comment gives me something to respond to.

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to one unwillingly, born as the year dies... and the lost heir will have the power to surpass the Dark Lord, for he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not... and one must die at the hand of the other, for only one can master death... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the year dies..._

 _The phoenix will rest when the hallowed one consumes his soul... summer and winter combine with the kiss of death... and death will touch the one who dies and the one who lives time and time again... the phoenix will rest when the hallowed one gives him the kiss of death..._

* * *

In another life, Merope Gaunt was a poor, uneducated, abused, inbred, near-squib of a witch.

In another life, Tom Marvolo Riddle's father was a rich, handsome muggle named Tom Riddle.

In another life, Merope, despite her life circumstances, managed to obtain the ingredients for and brew Amortentia, the most powerful love potion in the world, which surely would involve highly expensive potion ingredients and a highly complex brewing process. It is a mystery how that Merope knew about the potion, let alone was successful in making it herself.

In this life, a different set of circumstances was involved.

Merope Gaunt was a poor, abused witch, but she was not uneducated, inbred, or nearly a squib. She attended Hogwarts and was sorted into Slytherin like other members of her family as she was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Her older brother, Morfin, also went to Hogwarts and was in Slytherin house. Merope and her brother, like their father, Marvolo, and other family members descended from Salazar Slytherin, were Parselmouths.

Merope's mother, Marvolo's wife, was a muggleborn witch named Elizabeth Riddle. Elizabeth was not the first outside of the Slytherin family line to marry into it; the Slytherin line never got into the habit of inbreeding as they were intelligent enough to realize early on that inbreeding would lead to the birth of squibs rather than keep the bloodline powerful.

William Hangleton was a rich, handsome pureblood wizard whose family owned the village of Little Hangleton where the Gaunts also lived. He attended Hogwarts at the same time as Merope, though he started two years before her, and was sorted into Slytherin like other members of his family tended to.

William, simply put, was not a good person. He was spoiled rotten by his parents and was never punished for bad behavior. He felt he was entitled to whatever he wanted when he wanted and was not the type of person to accept "no" for an answer. This became especially problematic as he got older, starting during his teenage years.

Sometimes whispers could be heard around the school that William had done something inappropriate to other students, particularly female students, but the details provided by the victims were often vague, and those who spoke up were silenced quickly whether it was through money, threats, or the use of certain types of magic. While nothing could ever be proven, those who were smart did their best to avoid having to be anywhere near William.

Morfin Gaunt was a brutish wizard and graduated from Hogwarts shortly after Merope began attending school there. It was during Merope's second year at Hogwarts that Marvolo and Elizabeth contracted Dragon Pox, and by the end of Merope's third year at Hogwarts, Marvolo and Elizabeth died from the disease. Morfin became Merope's legal guardian, and his violent outbursts, which before had largely been controlled by their parents providing him with sedative potions, increased in frequency and severity and became largely centered on Merope whenever she came home from school.

While attending Hogwarts, Merope managed to avoid the attention of William Hangleton and managed to go through her schooling without anything really unusual happening to her. She got along decently with her peers though people avoided getting too close to her because of her blood status, her poverty, her ability to speak Parseltongue, or some combination of the three. She was quiet and studious and scored highly on her OWLs and her NEWTs.

During Merope's seventh year at Hogwarts, an incident occurred in Little Hangleton where Morfin attacked William and some other people in the village. This resulted in Morfin being sent to Azkaban by the time Merope graduated. (William had graduated from Hogwarts two years prior.)

William, being the cruel person he was, did not feel satisfied with Morfin being sent to Azkaban and decided to target Merope. He had the money, the knowledge, the skill, and the deviousness to obtain the ingredients for and brew Amortentia. Dousing her with the love potion wasn't difficult; he simply poured a bit in her drink when she wasn't looking while they were both separately attending an event in the village. Future doses of the love potion were even easier to give.

Over a period of several months, Merope began to deteriorate. She got more pale and sickly in appearance, her eyes lost their sparkle except when she was in William's presence, and she found herself unable to focus on really anything other than William, which led to difficulties with employment.

During this time, William took advantage of Merope's potion-induced infatuation on a regular basis, and it resulted in a pregnancy. Eventually, William decided he was no longer interested in continuing to have any connection to Merope and stopped dousing her with Amortentia. By the time Merope realized what had happened and what her predicament was, it was too late, and she had no choice but to carry the unwanted pregnancy to term.

With no money and no one to turn to for help, Merope sold Slytherin's Locket for much less than it was worth out of desperation and ended up giving birth at Wool's Orphanage. Before she died, she named her son Tom Marvolo Riddle: Tom after a cute, kind Hufflepuff she had been on friendly terms with and briefly dated while at Hogwarts; Marvolo after her father; and Riddle after her mother, for Merope didn't want her son to be raised by her rapist nor her abusive brother whenever he'd get out of Azkaban - she felt a muggle orphanage or even unknown muggle adopters would likely be better.


	2. I Open at the Close

**I Open at the Close**

Inside the fish tank were three fish. One was black but looked vaguely green due to the way the light reflected off of it. One was blue and silver with the colors blending together at points. One was a rainbow of colors with red featuring most prominently.

That last fish was 5-year-old Tom's favorite, and it upset him to find it lying at the bottom of the tank one morning, lifeless. He wished for it to live again, and the magic he didn't know he had fulfilled his wish. That afternoon he saw the rainbow-colored fish swimming as if it had never died, which brought a smile to his face. This was the first time he ever brought something back from death.

That night the black fish that looked green at times was lying dead at the bottom of the tank. Tom didn't bother trying to will it back to life.

* * *

Tom was not born evil, and he was not a bad child by any means. He wasn't normal, but it couldn't be helped. From a very young age he was precocious and had the uncanny ability to tell when someone was lying to him. He also was magically gifted though it took a while for that to become clear to him.

Being able to tell when someone was lying was very useful but had some downsides. The primary downside was that Tom found himself uninterested in befriending others because of people's tendency to lie. He hated liars more than anything. He, personally, had no reason to lie, so he didn't understand why others bothered to. It infuriated him whenever someone would accuse him of lying. He also knew he was smarter than other kids his age and was certain that he was special, so he didn't see any incentive to befriend anyone.

When Tom was 5 years old, he was adopted for the first time. A financially well-off couple with fertility issues wanted a child, and they decided to adopt Tom. The boy enjoyed the luxury the couple was able to provide as well as their pet fish, but he could tell the couple and people the couple brought over to the house for networking and socializing lied a lot. He was at a stage where he tended to blurt out whatever he was thinking, which meant that he called people liars a lot.

The couple found Tom's tendency to call them liars both unsettling and irritating. It was unsettling because he always called them liars after they'd lied, and it was irritating because it was disrespectful. It was after Tom called several important people at a dinner party they were hosting liars that the couple returned the boy to the orphanage.

When Tom was 6 years old, he was adopted for the second time. A couple who had a son of their own already wanted to have another child but didn't want to raise one from infancy, and they decided to adopt Tom. The couple's 8-year-old son bullied Tom because he was jealous as a result of the attention his parents normally gave to him being split. When Tom told the parents about how their son was treating him, the couple's solution to the problem was to return Tom to the orphanage.

When Tom was 7 years old, Billy's rabbit was found dead at the bottom of the stairs shortly after the two boys had had an argument. Tom had nothing to do with the rabbit's death. One of the younger girls at the orphanage had taken the rabbit to play with, only to trip down the stairs while holding the animal. She sustained minor injuries.

A few hours later, Tom went outside the orphanage to the trash the rabbit had been thrown in with, retrieved the rabbit, and willed the rabbit to come back to life. He was successful and set the rabbit free in a nearby park.

When Tom was 8 years old, he had to write a short story for school. In the process, he came up with a story about a villain named Lord Voldemort, based on an anagram he came up with for his name. Although he used Lord Voldemort as a character for stories and other artistic activities that year, that was as far as his use of the name went. He did not view himself as Lord Voldemort, and he never would.

When Tom was 9 years old, he was adopted for the third time. A couple who had adopted a few other children before wanted to adopt another child, and they decided to adopt Tom. One night the man came into Tom's room and attempted to molest him.

The man's attempt failed because Tom was able to summon a chair from the desk in the room and have it crash hard into the man. It knocked the man from the bed to the floor, and the man sustained minor injuries. The man did not attempt to assault Tom again, but the very next morning, the man returned Tom to the orphanage with his wife in tow.

The man told the matron of the orphanage that he'd seen Tom perform magic and that they should perform an exorcism on the boy. Tom's response to that was that the man was simply angry that he had defended himself when the man had tried to touch him inappropriately the night before. Mrs. Cole's response to all of this was to notify the police to let them conduct an investigation.

Some time went by between when Tom was returned to the orphanage and the investigation concluded. In the end, it turned out that the man had been abusing several adopted children over the years, and the man went to prison while the children were brought to the orphanage.

When Tom was 10 years old, after the orphanage took a field trip to the seashore, Dennis and Amy came back strange. Tom didn't do anything to the two children; they were just in shock. The two had followed Tom to a cave without his knowledge and witnessed him bringing a dead snake back to life and talking to it.

* * *

 _15 July 1938_

Albus looked at the drab, grey building that housed the student he was here to inform about Hogwarts and the rest of the wizarding world and frowned while thinking about the name of the boy: Tom Marvolo Riddle. There was something familiar about the name, but perhaps that was simply because "Marvolo" was definitely a wizard's name. It didn't have a muggle vibe to it. The other parts of the boy's name could go either way, muggle or wizard.

Albus walked up to the front door of the orphanage and knocked. A little girl answered the door and squinted her eyes in suspicion at him. "What do you want?" the girl asked.

"Anne, get away from the door. How many times have I told you not to answer the door?" said a woman standing a few feet away. The girl rolled her eyes but moved away from the door. She was replaced by the woman, who smiled tensely at Albus. "I'm sorry about her. Now, may I ask who you are?"

Albus smiled politely at the woman. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. I'm a teacher at a special boarding school that one of the children who I've been informed lives here was enrolled in by his mother before she passed away. She herself attended the school when she was younger, so she wanted her son to attend as well." Albus didn't know at this point that Tom's mother actually had attended Hogwarts, but he didn't see any harm with lying to the muggle woman.

A look of surprise flashed across the woman's face. "Really? Well, why don't you come inside and join me in my office, Mr. Dumbledore. I'm sure we have much to discuss."

"It would be my pleasure, Miss..."

"Mrs. Cole," the woman answered.

Albus nodded and followed Mrs. Cole to her office. He took a seat in one of the chairs across from where Mrs. Cole sat behind her desk.

"So, which child here is supposed to go to this school you mentioned at the door?"

"A boy by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle."

A thoughtful expression crossed Mrs. Cole's face. "Him? Hm... Well, I suppose if any of these children would be suited for a special boarding school, it would be him."

"I get the feeling there is a story there."

"Oh, yes," Mrs. Cole smiled. "He's very smart, always at the top of his class. He is a bit odd, however."

"Odd?"

"Well, he doesn't really have any friends and never has. He seems to prefer books over people. The staff and I have tried to get him to befriend the other children, but he just has no interest in them. He says they're too dull or stupid or liars. He always has some reason for not wanting to interact with the other children. He's usually quiet, except when he's angry. He was unusually quiet as a baby too, I remember. He is generally polite though distant with people."

"So, he's precocious and shy? That's not that unusual."

"Well, I'm not so sure it's just that, and I wouldn't say he's shy exactly either. I think he dislikes people more than anything. I can't really blame him for that though. You see, he's been adopted and returned a few times. The first time, he accused a bunch of people of being liars, and the couple who'd adopted him were embarrassed by that, so they returned him. The second time, the couple had a son who bullied him, and instead of disciplining their child, they decided to return Tom. The third and most recent time, the couple returned Tom, claiming he could do magic and needed an exorcism-"

"-What sort of magic did they say he could do?"

"Oh, the man claimed Tom was able to move objects with his mind. He claimed Tom made a chair fly from across the room and hit him. It sounded like nonsense to me. Besides, the man made it sound as though Tom did this for no reason. I find it hard to believe that Tom performed some sort of magic and for no reason. Sure enough, Tom claimed the man was just mad that he'd defended himself against the man. The man had attempted to assault him, you see. I called the police to have them investigate, and it turned out the man had assaulted quite a few children he'd adopted with his wife over the years. The man is in prison at the moment."

"And has Mr. Riddle done anything else strange like supposedly making objects fly with his mind?"

Mrs. Cole gave Albus a shrewd look. "Supposedly, yes. Once Tom got into an argument with one of the boys here, and the boy had a pet rabbit. The rabbit was found dead at the bottom of the stairs shortly after, and the boy accused Tom of having killed it. That wasn't the case though. One of the girls here had taken the rabbit to play with and tripped on the stairs. She was injured, and the rabbit died in the process. The boy claimed that later that day he saw Tom go to the trash the rabbit had been thrown in with, retrieve the rabbit, and bring it back to life before letting it go free. I think he was just upset about his pet having died and that he was having difficulty accepting what happened.

"There was also this other instance just last year when the staff took the children to the seashore. Two of the children followed Tom to a cave, and they claimed they had seen him bring a dead snake back to life and start talking to it. It's not that strange for children to attempt to talk to animals, and Tom is fond of snakes, so it doesn't seem that strange to me that he would try to talk the snake into living again. Those two children I know didn't like Tom to begin with, and they are afraid of snakes like most people. It's not surprising that they'd make up this story.

"Anyway, that's enough talk about stories children made up. Why don't you tell me about this school Tom has been admitted to?"

"Ah, yes. The school is for gifted children, and like you mentioned, Mr. Riddle is a gifted child. His mother attended it herself when she was young, and she set things up so that any child of hers would be able to attend the school once they became old enough to attend. She was quite confident any child of hers would be suited for the school. It is a boarding school, so he would be staying at the school during the school year. He would have the option of staying at the school or returning here during the winter holidays, but he would have to return here for the summer in between school years. As for his school supplies and school uniform, the costs would be covered by the school. There is a fund for orphans so that they can attend so long as they are suitable for the school."

"That seems very convenient. What is the name of this school again? I seem to have forgotten it."

"Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts? I've never heard of it before." Mrs. Cole frowned. "Do you have any sort of documentation proving the existence of this school and Tom's enrollment?"

"Of course." Albus handed Mrs. Cole a blank piece of parchment and cast a Confundus charm on her before she could even mention the parchment was blank. Mrs. Cole shivered as the spell began to take effect, and then she felt as though she had been given all the information she needed even though she'd been given no information at all.

"Do you have any more questions, Mrs. Cole?" asked Albus. He knew she wouldn't have any.

"No, I think I have all the information I need."

"Wonderful. Now, would you mind taking me to Mr. Riddle?"

Mrs. Cole proceeded to take Albus to Tom's room and introduced the two briefly before leaving them alone.

"So, you're a teacher," Tom stated rather than asked from where he was sitting on his bed. "What do you teach?"

"I'm the Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Albus answered from where he stood.

Tom frowned. "I've never heard of transfiguration or Hogwarts. You say it's a school for... 'witchcraft and wizardry'? I'm a wizard?"

"Yes."

Tom nodded.

"You don't seem very surprised to hear this." In Albus's experience, muggleborn children were usually surprised to learn they were a witch or wizard.

"Of course not. I always knew I was special and different from the others."

"How so?"

"Besides being smarter than them, I can make objects move without touching them, I can tell when people are lying to me even if they're really good liars, I can talk to snakes, and I can bring dead animals back to life." Tom said all of this with simple confidence. It was like Mrs. Cole had said: The boy wasn't exactly shy.

Albus considered what Mrs. Cole had said and what Tom was saying.

Being smarter than other children was slightly unusual but not in a magical sort of way. There were always people who were smarter than others.

Being able to move objects without touching them was fairly common as far as accidental magic went although Albus suspected Tom didn't only move objects with his mind under duress. If Tom could perform intentional wandless magic, it showed a great deal of power and control for a young wizard. It suggested the boy had a lot of potential.

Being able to tell when people lied the way Tom appeared to be able to suggested he was a natural Legilimens. While legilimency was something a wizard could learn, to be a natural Legilimens meant that Tom inherited it from his mother or father's family. There weren't very many families that had this natural ability.

Being able to talk to snakes meant that Tom was a Parselmouth, and being a Parselmouth was something that was only passed down by blood as far as Albus was aware. The number of families that contained Parselmouths was much smaller than those that contained natural Legilimens.

Being able to bring dead animals back to life the way Tom was able to meant that Tom was a natural necromancer. Usually necromancy was practiced by dark wizards who were deeply entrenched in the dark arts. To be a child with no knowledge of magic yet still be capable of such magic indicated that Tom not only inherited the ability through his mother or father's family but that he was, in fact, powerful and had strong control over his magic.

Based on what Mrs. Cole had said earlier, it seemed likely that Tom had done the very magic she had dismissed. The most interesting thing was that it didn't seem as though Tom had any desire to use his abilities to cause harm to anyone. Legilimency could be used for nefarious purposes, and Parseltongue and necromancy were both associated with dark magic, even if they were inherited abilities.

Although Albus knew it was unlikely he'd be able to do so, he became determined to keep Tom away from the dark. The first step would be to attempt to sway him against going into Slytherin. The Sorting Hat would want to place him there due to the boy's Parseltongue ability if nothing else, but perhaps, if the boy was determined enough to not be placed there, the hat would sort him elsewhere. If Tom was sorted into Slytherin, it would be all the more difficult to keep him away from the dark as the House was filled with students from families that practiced dark magic, more so than any other House.

Perhaps Tom could fit into Ravenclaw. According to Mrs. Cole, he was very independent, he liked books more than people, he was intelligent, and he was at the top of his class academically. Although it wasn't necessary to be that way to fit in Ravenclaw and one could be that way and end up in another House, Albus didn't get the impression that Tom was suited for Gryffindor or Hufflepuff.

"Sir?" Tom asked after a stretch of time passed. Albus had been quietly thinking for too long for it to go unnoticed.

"I'm sorry, my boy. I got lost in my thoughts. It happens sometimes."

Tom had a feeling there was more that could be said, but he had no reason to pry more. However, that didn't mean he didn't have any questions. "How common would you say my abilities are among wizards?" Tom had no way of knowing if what he could do was common or uncommon. He hoped that what he could do was uncommon. To go from knowing he was special to learning he was only special compared to people who weren't wizards would put a dent in his pride.

Grudgingly, Albus answered, "While your ability to move objects without touching them or casting any spells on them isn't all that uncommon, those other abilities you mentioned aren't too common. It would be for the best if you don't tell others about those abilities. While you likely inherited those abilities from one or both of your parents, they tend to be associated with dark magic. Such magic is usually done by wizards who mean to cause harm to others, so it would, in the least, make your peers at Hogwarts feel uncomfortable if they knew you had these abilities, regardless of your own intentions."

"I understand." Tom could see the logic in what Professor Dumbledore was saying. While he doubted the man was revealing all of his reasons for why Tom shouldn't mention his abilities to others, the idea that it could alienate him from his peers and potentially cause them to become hostile towards him - although it went unsaid, it was implied - was a good enough reason in itself. At least he had his answer though: He was, in fact, special, even among wizards.

Tom also had a new piece of information: He got his abilities from one or both of his parents. He might have suspected that he had gotten his abilities from them, but the professor had all but confirmed it. That train of thought led Tom to another question. "Sir, do you think my mother was a witch? I was told she died shortly after she gave birth to me. Surely a witch wouldn't have died from childbirth though, right?"

"Unfortunately, witches, just like muggle women, can die from childbirth although the instances are more rare. I cannot say one way or another whether your mother was or was not a witch."

Now Tom knew what non-wizards were called, not that it mattered much. At least he knew now there was a chance that some of his abilities came from his mother. She literally gave her life for him. While it was unlikely to have been a willing sacrifice, Tom could appreciate the sacrifice nonetheless. He was uncertain how to feel about his father though. Had the man abandoned his mother, or had the man died before Tom was born? Either was possible. "Do you think my father was or is a wizard? Mrs. Cole said my mother had come here alone and didn't say anything about my father, so I'm not sure if he's alive or not."

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that either, my boy. What I can say though is that I'm not familiar with any wizard named Riddle other than yourself, but Marvolo does sound like a wizard's name to me. It's possible that your mother was a witch and your father was a muggle although there are other possibilities."

To Tom, this suggested that his father had abandoned his mother. He probably found out she was a witch and left her. Then again, it was not as though the professor knew every single witch and wizard. He'd have to look into things whenever he got the chance. Now that Tom had gotten answers to his most pressing questions, he was interested in learning more about the school. "So, what's Hogwarts like?"

"Hogwarts is a school young witches and wizards from across Great Britain attend to learn about magic and how to use it. Attendance is tuition-free. It is only the school supplies and uniform that students have to buy. There is a fund for orphans, so you won't need to worry about the cost. You may not be able to get the highest quality items, but you will be able to get what you need. In fact, once we're finished here, we'll head off to get what you need for the upcoming school year.

"At Hogwarts, students are placed into four different Houses more or less based on their personalities and values. For all seven years that you attend Hogwarts, you will live among, dine with, and attend classes with people from your House. Ideally, you get placed with likeminded people who you can develop friendships with or at least are able to get along with.

"The Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, named after the founders of Hogwarts. Each House represents traits that each founder valued. You will be able to learn more from the ceremony on the night you arrive. Personally, I think you could do well in Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws, in particular, value learning, intelligence, originality, and independence.

"Each year, you will have a set of core classes you will take along with others from your year. You'll be able to choose electives when you get further into your education.

"Oh, I almost forgot. While you will be living at Hogwarts during the school year, you will have the option to come back here during the winter holidays and will have to return here each summer. Is there anything else you need to know at the moment?"

Tom thought for a moment before answering. "No. I think that's all for now."

"In that case, are you ready to go get your school items?"

"Yes."

Albus nodded. "You will always find what you need for the school year at Diagon Alley. The way we'll be travelling there today is by apparating. In the future, you will want to go to the Leaky Cauldron to gain entrance to Diagon Alley. I'll show you where that is later on. If you're ready then, please grab hold of my arm and make sure to keep a tight grip."

Tom got up from where he'd been sitting on his bed and took hold of the professor's arm before they were transported from his dull, grey room into the bright, colorful Diagon Alley. He felt dizzy for a moment before it passed.

The boy and the professor went to all of the normal shops to get Tom's school supplies. There were no shops selling used items in Diagon Alley. When the professor had said Tom wouldn't be able to get the "highest quality items," he hadn't meant that Tom would be forced to have items other people had previously owned. Wizards didn't even have such a concept outside of passing down items within families.

No, what the professor had meant was that Tom wouldn't be able to get fancy versions of items, like getting a trunk that could act as a house on the go or getting a cauldron made of gold. However, he also couldn't get a pet, even if it was fairly common to get one. It didn't bother Tom though since he was used to not having a pet. Already not having to have secondhand items was good enough; it was more than he could say about living at the orphanage.

It was after getting the rest of Tom's items for Hogwarts that the two went to Ollivanders to get Tom a wand. Mr. Ollivander took a few measurements and stared at Tom for a bit before he started fetching wands for the boy to try. After several wands failed to work or actively had negative reactions to Tom, Mr. Ollivander squinted his eyes at Tom and muttered, "I wonder," before reaching for the wand that would end up choosing the boy.

"Thirteen and one-half inches. Yew," Mr. Ollivander said as he handed the wand to Tom.

The moment Tom grasped the wand, he felt a pleasant warmth spread through his hand, and gold sparks shot out of the tip of the wand.

"Curious. Very curious," Mr. Ollivander remarked.

"What's curious?" Tom asked.

"Yew wands are quite rare, and those they choose tend to be similarly unusual, Mr. Riddle. They never choose mediocre or timid owners. Your wand is on the longer side, which suggests a strong personality and capability for dramatic forms of magic. Yew wood represents life and death, and the core of your wand is phoenix feather, which represents rebirth or immortality. Coincidentally, the phoenix that gave the feather that is in your wand gave just one other feather, and the owner of said phoenix is none other than Mr. Dumbledore here. Yes, I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Riddle."

Tom was visibly pleased by what Mr. Ollivander said. Meanwhile, Albus was somewhat surprised although he supposed he shouldn't be when he considered what he knew about the boy already and wandlore. It was interesting that Fawkes, specifically, had provided the feather that was in Tom's wand though.

After paying for Tom's wand, Albus took Tom to the Leaky Cauldron and showed him how he would get inside Diagon Alley in the future. Then he gave Tom written instructions for how to find the Leaky Cauldron from Wool's Orphanage, for Tom would simply be given the necessary funds for school supplies when his list of what he needed for the upcoming school year was delivered in future years and be expected to obtain what he needed on his own. This suited Tom just fine.

Albus and Tom apparated back to Tom's room inside the orphanage with Tom's trunk full of the day's purchases. The professor handed the boy the envelope that contained his Hogwarts admittance letter, unopened, and explained that Tom would need to go to King's Cross on September 1st with his belongings to take the train to Hogwarts, which would leave at 11 a.m. Inside the envelope, along with the admittance letter and list of school supplies, was a ticket for the train, but it was something given to first-year students only as a sort of commemorative item. It wasn't actually needed to board the train.

Albus informed the boy that in order to access the platform, he would need to walk through a brick wall that was between platforms 9 and 10. He didn't need to know any special magic to do this. He just simply had to walk.

Once Albus finished explaining the last of what he needed to, he congratulated Tom on his admittance to Hogwarts and wished him a happy summer for the time that remained. Then, he left Tom's room and sought out Mrs. Cole. He informed her that he would be leaving and that he had already gotten Tom his supplies for the upcoming school year before using the Confundus charm on her once more to prevent her from getting suspicious and leaving.


	3. Revealing Choices

**Revealing Choices**

 _1 September 1938_

On September 1st, Tom was taken to King's Cross by Mrs. Cole, along with his trunk that carried his possessions. They were there by 10 a.m. He let her know that he'd be able to find the train and wouldn't require her help once inside. He told her that if he got lost somehow that he'd simply ask someone who worked at the station for assistance. Mrs. Cole didn't doubt him, so she left, just like he wanted.

Finding the platform hadn't been difficult, and Tom watched a few students and their families walk through the brick wall from a slight distance away before he attempted to go through. He was able to get through without any trouble.

As he walked to the train, he overheard pieces of different conversations.

Some students expressed worries about not ending up in a particular House or ending up in a particular House. If they were worried about ending up in a certain House, most likely they were worried about ending up in Slytherin. The students who worried about not ending up in a certain House all seemed to want to go into the House at least one of their parents had been sorted into from what Tom could tell.

Mostly, parents exchanged heartfelt goodbyes with their children and told them they loved them as their children got onto the train with their trunks.

Tom didn't stay outside of the train for long as the familial displays of affection made him feel uncomfortable.

Once onboard the train, Tom found a compartment near the middle that was unoccupied at that moment and dragged his trunk inside. After getting settled, he pulled out one of his school books and began to read through it for the third time. He had read all of his school books at least twice during the summer after he'd gotten them, but he didn't know how much the other students would know, and he didn't want to be behind simply because he'd grown up in the muggle world.

It was shortly after Tom had begun to read that his compartment was opened. Tom looked up and saw two boys who looked to be around his age. Both were well dressed and had a snobbish air about them. "Can I help you?" he asked.

The two boys looked at each other briefly, and the one with light brown hair spoke first. "I'm Avery, and my friend here is Lestrange. We were looking for a compartment, and yours seems to have plenty of room. Mind if we join you?"

Tom would have preferred to have had the compartment to himself for the duration of the train ride, but he had known it was unlikely that he'd get to. "Go ahead."

The two boys brought in their trunks and lifted them onto the racks above their seats. "So," said the black-haired boy - Lestrange, Tom reminded himself - "who might you be?"

"Riddle. Tom Riddle."

The two boys looked at each other again before Lestrange asked another question. "You're a muggleborn?"

"I can't really say. I'm an orphan. Dumbledore told me he thinks that at least one of my parents was a witch or wizard though."

"Who's Dumbledore?" Avery asked.

"The Transfiguration professor. He's the one who delivered my Hogwarts letter to me," Tom answered.

"Did he tell you why he believed one of your parents was magical?" Lestrange asked.

Tom almost mentioned his abilities but thought back to what Dumbledore had said. It'd be best if he kept that information to himself. "My middle name is Marvolo, and he said that that sounded like a wizard's name."

Lestrange nodded, looking friendlier than he had just moments ago. "It does."

"So, Riddle," Avery asked, "which House do you think you'll be sorted into?"

Tom frowned. "I'm not really sure. I haven't been able to learn much about the different Houses. Dumbledore said I'd do well in Ravenclaw. What about you two?"

"Slytherin," Avery and Lestrange said in unison.

"We can tell you about the different Houses if you'd like," Lestrange offered.

Tom nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

The Hogwarts Express left the station sometime while Avery and Lestrange were telling Tom about the different Houses. By the end of the boys' explanation, Tom felt he was suited for either Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

At one point the trolley witch came over to the boys' compartment. Avery and Lestrange got themselves some sweets. Tom didn't get anything because he didn't have any money. He had a packed lunch that he'd brought with him from the orphanage. The two pureblood wizards looked at each other and then bought a few extra sweets.

Avery put a small pile of sweets next to Tom while Lestrange got his items, and then the boys swapped places. Once the trolley witch left, Avery and Lestrange sat on their side of the compartment with their piles of sweets mingling together.

Tom was surprised that the two boys had bought him sweets. During the time he'd lived at the orphanage, schoolmates who were better off had been much more likely to ignore him or insult him for being an orphan. It hadn't helped that he always got better grades than them. "Thank you."

Lestrange waved a hand dismissively. "You're a wizard. You should be able to try our sweets."

"You guys don't have a problem with me being an orphan?"

"You can't help being an orphan. Is that something muggles have an issue with?" Avery responded.

"Yes."

Avery shook his head and muttered, "Muggles."

For the next several hours, the three boys talked about a variety of subjects. Tom learned about Quidditch, the Ministry of Magic, the Wizengamot, Grindelwald, and many other things. Avery and Lestrange learned a bit about the muggle world but only a little since Tom could tell they weren't too interested. They much preferred telling him about the wizarding world.

Shortly before the train pulled into Hogsmeade, the three boys changed into their robes. When the time came to disembark, the trio left the train together, and they ended up taking the same boat to the castle.

Tom was in awe as he looked upon Hogwarts from his spot in the boat. It was the most magnificent thing he'd ever seen, and it was absolutely enormous! He decided right there and then that he'd explore every inch of the castle, even if it took him all seven years to achieve.

After the first-year students reached the castle, they were brought to the Great Hall where all the other students were seated. The Sorting Hat sang a song about the different Houses, and then the sorting began.

Throughout the Sorting Ceremony, Tom took stock of the different Houses. He observed how members of each House interacted with their fellow members, how they reacted to gaining new members, and how they reacted to other Houses gaining new members. He noticed that applause always came loudest from whichever House gained a new member with varying levels of applause coming from the different Houses.

The applause appeared to be the least enthusiastic overall whenever someone was sorted into Slytherin. Most students were polite enough to applaud for all students, but the energy was different. Gryffindors were least likely to applaud for new Slytherins while Slytherins were least likely to applaud for new Gryffindors. There was obvious House rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. There didn't appear to be any sort of House rivalry between any of the Houses and Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff.

Tom also considered how the different students behaved right before, during, and immediately after their sorting. For some students, the Sorting Hat decided which House to place someone in when it barely touched their head. For others, the Sorting Hat spent some time deliberating. Usually the student looked pleased with where they were sorted, but sometimes the student seemed surprised or unhappy with where they were placed.

He considered what he had heard and learned about the different Houses as well as what he had observed and decided that, like Professor Dumbledore had mentioned the day he'd visited Wool's Orphanage, he'd probably do well in Ravenclaw. Neither Gryffindor nor Hufflepuff seemed appropriate, and while he certainly had Slytherin traits, it would probably be for the best to avoid Slytherin if possible. It wasn't as though he lacked Ravenclaw traits after all. He had a good balance of both Ravenclaw and Slytherin traits.

Eventually, "Riddle, Tom," was called, and Tom made his way up to the Sorting Hat, sat on the stool, and had the hat placed on his head.

The Sorting Hat began to speak to Tom in his mind.

 _Well, I see you've already narrowed things down yourself. You're right that neither Gryffindor nor Hufflepuff would suit you although you do have some traits valued by both, especially Hufflepuff. You would likely become irritated with your fellow Housemates due to your personality if you were to be placed in either House, however._

 _It really does come down to Ravenclaw and Slytherin. You've already decided you want to be in Ravenclaw, but Slytherin could help you on the way to greatness. There's no doubt about that._

 _Did you know that Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth just as you are? His ability to speak to serpents is the reason why a serpent is the symbol of his House. Perhaps you are a descendent of his. There are very few Parselmouths out there as far as I can tell, and I can't remember a time I sorted a Parselmouth who wasn't his descendent and who also didn't belong in their ancestor's House. You, like the others, also have the traits Slytherin valued._

 _You're resourceful, ambitious, determined, clever, and shrewd, and you have a highly developed sense of self-preservation. You're unusually self-assured for a child and have no trouble taking charge in situations that call for leadership._

 _Considering all of this, why should I put you in Ravenclaw?_

While Tom was surprised to learn that he was potentially related to one of the founders of Hogwarts, knowing that he was expected to go into his possible ancestor's House largely just because he was possibly related to the man didn't sit well with him. Yes, he had those qualities that Slytherin valued, but he also had traits that Ravenclaw valued.

In some cases, the traits admired by Slytherin were more or less the same as the traits valued by Ravenclaw or required the traits of Ravenclaw. Then there were traits he had that suited Ravenclaw more than Slytherin. He was very independent, yet Slytherin valued fraternity. He could be creative and original or at least appreciate creativity and originality while Slytherin was concerned about traditionalism. Ravenclaw valued acceptance while Slytherin was said to care about blood purity. Regardless of what the hat claimed about Tom's possibly ancestry, he couldn't prove it, and he was likely to be presumed to be a muggleborn student. There was a good chance that, despite the hat's claims, he would not do well in Slytherin.

As Tom sat on the stool, debating with the Sorting Hat, enough time passed that he became a hatstall. This intrigued many of the students and staff because of how rare it was for someone to be a hatstall. No one was more invested in the outcome, minus Tom Riddle, than Professor Dumbledore, not that anyone was aware of that. He was pleasantly surprised that the hat had not placed Tom in Slytherin instantaneously and even more so that the boy truly must have been well suited for a House other than Slytherin if the sorting was taking so long. Not only that, but it also meant that Tom was fighting against being placed in Slytherin. He hadn't expected the boy to do that, even though he had hoped he would.

"Ravenclaw!" the Sorting Hat shouted at last.


	4. The Looking Glass

**The Looking Glass**

 _Autumn 1938_

Tom's first term at Hogwarts passed by quietly.

Despite the fact that Tom had managed to get along well with Avery and Lestrange on the train to Hogwarts at the beginning of his first year, he did not befriend the two boys. Perhaps had he been sorted into Slytherin he would have. He did, however, maintain friendly ties with them.

Ultimately, Tom's approach to interacting with Avery and Lestrange was for the best. The two boys couldn't actually prove that Tom wasn't a muggleborn, and he was in a different House. Being on more than distant yet friendly terms with Tom would have caused problems for them as pureblood Slytherins.

Tom also didn't befriend any of the other students in his House or his year. He got along decently with everyone he encountered, but as Mrs. Cole had noted to Albus Dumbledore when he'd visited Wool's Orphanage, Tom preferred books over people. While Tom found some of the other students to be mildly interesting or useful to be friendly towards, for the most part, he found the other students boring or annoying.

In his first term at Hogwarts, he took all of the required first-year classes: Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Magical Theory, and Flying. He excelled at all of his classes, outperforming all of his fellow classmates. Tom would continue to be at the top of every class he took throughout the duration of his time at Hogwarts.

He loved all of his classes though flying made him feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, Flying had a limited duration. Once he proved himself sufficiently capable of flying, he didn't have to continue taking it. He resolved to invent a better form of flight, something that wouldn't force him to put his life in the hands of an unpredictable, semi-sentient object.

Although Tom didn't like flying on a broom himself, he did enjoy watching Quidditch. He made it a point to attend every game, no matter who was playing. He didn't care at all about House rivalries.

During his spare time, he spent time reading every book he could get his hands on in the school library, exploring the castle, and exploring the grounds surrounding the castle. The books he read during his first term were largely focused on Hogwarts and other magical schools and occlumency.

He had tried to find information on his family but didn't have any luck. He had tried to learn about necromancy, but the books were in the Restricted Section of the library. He had tried to learn about Parseltongue, but very little information was available in the books beyond what everyone knew, which was just that the ability to speak it was inherited and rare and that the speaker could talk to snakes. He had also found little information on legilimency in the regular section of the library but did find plenty of information on occlumency, so he focused on studying occlumency.

* * *

 _Winter 1938_

Tom chose to stay at Hogwarts for the winter holiday break. There would have been nothing for him to do at the orphanage, and there was no one he really cared to see there. He spent his time just like how he normally spent his spare time: reading books and exploring Hogwarts.

On Christmas Day, Tom didn't find any presents waiting for him to open, not that he'd expected there to be any. He did, however, stumble upon something that was better than any present he could have hoped for that day: the Room of Requirement.

Tom noticed a door suddenly appear where there had only been a wall before and opened it to see a room filled with books on the sides and a large mirror standing in the center of the room. The mirror had clawed feet and a gold frame inscribed with "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi."

As Tom neared the mirror, he saw images begin to form. Once he stood close enough, the images in the mirror solidified. On his left, he saw a woman, and on his right, he saw a man. He saw himself standing in between the two adults. He also saw various people standing further in the mirror. Everyone was smiling.

He frowned although his mirror self didn't. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking at. The mirror was obviously enchanted, but what was it enchanted to show? He considered the inscription on the mirror's frame. Perhaps it was a clue.

Tom sat down on the floor, reached into his bag, and pulled out a quill, an inkwell, and his diary, a leather-bound notebook that had his name inscribed on it. The diary was one of the few truly decent presents he'd ever received while growing up and something he took with himself wherever he went.

He opened the diary and wrote the letters as the mirror displayed them. Then he wrote the message backwards. The message displayed by the mirror was "ishow no tyo urfac ebu tyo urhe arts desire." Tom smiled slightly, pleased that he'd been right about the inscription on the mirror being a clue.

The words were displayed backwards because it was a mirror, and the spacing was strange, but he could understand the purpose of the mirror now. It was just a matter of determining what his heart's desire was at this point. As soon as he thought about it, he realized who he saw in the mirror. He was seeing his family for the first time.

Tom hadn't realized he'd been seeing his family because he'd never seen any member of his family before. Now that he knew what he was looking for, he saw that he did share features with the people in the mirror.

The woman on his left had to be his mother. He shared her hair and eye color and was just as pale as her. The man on his right had to be his father. The man's hair acted the same way as his own did, and it seemed as though a lot of Tom's features were the same as the man's when Tom really took time to compare their features part by part. Tom realized that the other people in the mirror had to be other family members, all likely deceased by now.

Tom fully intended to study the mirror more, but it would have to wait. He wanted to know what books the room contained. As he went along the edges of the room, he could tell that the books were on subjects that he was interested in that he hadn't had luck with finding in the school library. Many of the books appeared to be in other languages or looked quite old, some being so old that the English was indescipherable, but most were readable, even if their usage of English was a bit odd.

The moment he thought about how he wished he could read the various unreadable books, he noticed a piece of framed glass that resembled a handheld mirror sitting on one of the shelves. When he looked through it, he saw the letters in one of the old books shift into something he could read. With the translator, Tom would be able to read everything the room contained.

For the rest of the winter break, Tom visited the room daily. It was just as the night turned to December 31st that something changed within the room.

He had been so caught up in reading that he hadn't realized how late he'd stayed in the room until he glanced at a clock that hung up on one of the walls a couple of minutes after midnight. It was now his 12th birthday. With a sigh, he put the book he'd been reading back where he'd found it and walked over to the mirror to look at it briefly before leaving and heading back to his dorm.

What he saw made him do a double-take, for he didn't see his family this time. Instead, he saw a boy who looked to be about his age with messy black hair and bright green eyes. The boy wore circular glasses and had a strange, jagged scar on his forehead. The boy in the mirror looked just as confused as Tom felt at seeing him.

For a few minutes, the two boys looked at each other with confusion and curiosity before Tom decided to end their meeting. He really needed to get to bed, and although he found it interesting that the mirror was showing him someone he'd never met before who also didn't appear to be a family member, it didn't seem like he'd get any information by looking at the boy indefinitely.

When Tom looked at the mirror the next night while it was still his birthday, yet again he only saw the boy. He wasn't sure why he was seeing a stranger in the mirror. He decided that he'd ask Professor Dumbledore about it someday. The man knew about all sorts of odd things. Tom didn't need to reveal how late he'd been out roaming the castle, and there weren't any rules that discouraged students from exploring the castle either.

Once again, Tom ended up leaving the Room of Requirement after midnight, and he glanced at the mirror before he left. The mirror reverted back to showing him his family. As he left the Room of Requirement, he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice when Professor Dumbledore turned the corner while doing his nightly walk around the castle.

Albus was surprised to see Tom roaming the castle so late, but when he considered that the Room of Requirement was nearby, things clicked into place. The boy had likely been spending time in there. "Mr. Riddle?" Albus asked when he was closer.

Tom startled slightly and stiffened when he realized he'd been caught. "Hello, professor."

"What are you doing out so late, my boy?"

"I was reading and lost track of time."

"In a corridor far from your dorm?"

"Well," Tom hesitantly answered, "there's this room, you see. It has a lot of books in it."

"It seems you've found the Room of Requirement."

"The Room of Requirement?"

"It's a room that comes only when required and provides the user with what they need."

"So you know about it." Tom thought for a moment. "I was wondering if you could tell me about this mirror that's in there."

Albus had a feeling he knew what mirror Tom was referring to. "A mirror?"

"It's enchanted, and it claims to show the viewer's heart's desire, but I don't think it just shows that."

"Why would that be?"

"I saw someone in the mirror I've never met but only for one day. Once it stopped being my birthday, the mirror went back to showing what it always shows me."

Albus had not been expecting to hear that. As far as he was aware, the mirror didn't change what it showed people based on the significance of the day to the person. "As I'm sure you've learned about in your Magical Theory class, certain forms of magic can act differently depending on the day, time of day, or season. I cannot say why this mirror would respond differently on your birthday, but perhaps it's showing something that your heart will desire in the future."

Tom scrunched up his face. "No offense, sir, but I really doubt that."

"Why do you say that?"

"The person was some boy who looks around my age. I don't see how he could be my future heart's desire. Also, he acted differently from the images I normally see in the mirror. He looked confused rather than just content to be there."

"Perhaps the boy is someone who once looked into the mirror or will look into the mirror in that case. A combination of your birthday and the last day of the year may have resulted in some strange time magic."

Tom nodded. "That makes a lot more sense."

Albus was now left with just one more question for the boy this night. "My boy, if you don't mind me asking, what is it that you normally see in the mirror?"

Tom smiled slightly. "I'll tell you if you tell me what you see."

Albus still felt ashamed by what he actually saw in the mirror the last time he'd looked at it: him and Gellert, youthful, standing side by side, smiling, and obviously together. He smiled sadly. "The last time I looked at the mirror I saw an old friend who died many years ago."

"I see my family. I never saw them before the mirror showed them to me. It took me a moment to realize who I saw at first."

"How did you realize the mirror was showing you your family?"

The corner of Tom's mouth twitched slightly. "I'm an orphan, sir." He didn't feel any need to elaborate. Surely every orphan wanted to see their family.

Albus nodded in understanding. "I suggest that you try to avoid looking at the mirror too much. Dwelling on what you cannot have will only lead to heartache. People have wasted their lives away before the mirror, unable to accept that the mirror may show you what your heart most desires but is unable to give you what your heart most desires."

"I understand."

The professor proceeded to escort Tom to the Ravenclaw tower. He didn't assign the boy detention. This night had been the first time he'd caught him out after curfew, school wasn't technically in session, and it was the boy's birthday not too long before.

The rest of Tom's winter break was spent largely within the Room of Requirement, but he didn't stay out as late as he had before. Although he looked at the mirror every day, the images in the mirror stayed the same. There was never any sign of the boy.


	5. The Ghost

**The Ghost**

 _Spring 1939 - Winter 1939_

When the second term of the year began, Tom kept up his routine of visiting the Room of Requirement and spent less time in the school library. He continued to practice occlumency, and while he suspected he had a handle on it by the end of his first year at Hogwarts, he wouldn't really be able to know how good he was at occlumency until he was tested by someone. Legilimency came more easily to him once he learned more about it and had the means to practice it in a controlled manner. It was one thing to have a sense of how honest or dishonest someone was being or how they might be feeling. It was another thing to be able to see images floating in someone's head or hear their thoughts.

Tom didn't like the fact that he had to return to Wool's Orphanage for the summer, but he found a way to make the summer bearable. He made sure to pack his trunk with books to study from the Room of Requirement. He couldn't check out books from the school library for use during the summer, but no one was really aware of the books in the Room of Requirement besides himself and perhaps Professor Dumbledore.

The second-year supply list and funds for the supplies arrived in the middle of summer, and Tom promptly went to Diagon Alley to purchase his supplies. He spent much of the day simply exploring shops by himself, and at one point, he even looked around Knockturn Alley briefly. It was after a hag tried to lure him into her clutches that he left Knockturn Alley and resolved to only return when he was several years older. As it stood, he was still young enough that a hag considered him appropriate for dinner.

Tom purchased his school supplies afterwards, and then he studied his new class materials for the remainder of the summer. By the time the new school year began, he had already read through all of his school books.

The classes Tom had for his second year were largely the same as his first year. The only real difference was that he didn't have to take Flying anymore. He also had the opportunity to take a purely extracurricular class called Ghoul Studies where he could learn about ghosts, poltergeists, and ghouls.

The class was open to all years for one section and had a small number of students. Most students who took the class were muggleborn witches and wizards. Those who grew up in the wizarding world had little interest in the class, even if they knew almost nothing about the subject. In this class, the professor would teach the students about the characteristics of these spirits before bringing some into the class.

Because the class was called Ghoul Studies, Tom first learned about ghouls. They were dimwitted and mainly considered to be mildly annoying pests to witches and wizards. When the professor sought to bring a ghoul to the class, he didn't have to look far for one: One was already taking up residence in the Muggle Studies classroom. For some reason, the ghoul just really liked that particular classroom.

Next, Tom learned about poltergeists. They were mischievous spirits who appeared to always have been spirits. They were transparent like ghosts but could have an effect on the world around them. The professor tricked Peeves, Hogwarts' resident poltergeist, into coming to the class. He had made Peeves think that it'd be a nuisance for him to appear when, in fact, he was actually wanted in this case.

After that, Tom learned about ghosts, and the professor proceeded to bring ghost after ghost each class to tell the students about their lives, deaths, and afterlives. Most of the Ghoul Studies class actually was focused on learning about the ghosts at Hogwarts. Students were also encouraged to seek out ghosts and speak with them.

One of Tom's main objectives when not dealing with schoolwork in the first term of his second year, outside of studying the books in the Room of Requirement, was learning about his possible family members. It was at the end of the winter break that he learned of a possible ancestor who was haunting the castle. It was when the spring term began that he managed to find her.

* * *

 _Spring_ _1940_

"Excuse me," a boy said from somewhere behind Juliet. She didn't bother to turn around. It wasn't likely that he was speaking to her after all.

"Excuse me," the boy said again, sounding more insistent, "but are you Juliet Riddell?"

As the boy finished speaking, Juliet felt a warm hand grab hold of her wrist. For the first time in over 300 years, she felt frightened. Only other ghosts were supposed to be capable of touching her, and they weren't warm at all. Juliet turned around sharply and whispered, "What are you?"

The boy merely raised an eyebrow. Then he asked again, "Are you Juliet Riddell?"

"Who's asking?"

"Tom Riddle."

Juliet eyed Tom curiously. "Then you have found her. What is it that you want?"

Tom smiled. "I believe you might be an ancestor of mine, so I was hoping to ask you a few questions."

Juliet nodded. "You may do so."

"Excellent." Tom sat down on the floor in the empty corridor and pulled a black leather notebook, a quill, and an inkwell from his bag.

Juliet decided to sit near him. Standing as Tom sat would just be awkward. "So what do you want to know?"

"Mostly I want to ask you about basic details about yourself and then a bit about people who you knew were family as well as a bit about people who you suspected to be family."

"I find that acceptable."

"Good. Now, let's start with something easy. Which House were you sorted into at Hogwarts?"

"Hufflepuff."

"Really? You don't seem like a Hufflepuff to me."

"The Sorting Hat debated for some time between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

"I see. And what were your favorite and least favorite classes?"

"Charms was my favorite class, and Herbology was my least favorite. Charms came easily to me, but Herbology was very difficult. Unlike my brother, I was never any good with plants."

The corner of Tom's mouth twitched slightly. "Funny that you ended up in Hufflepuff. Did you ever think the hat sorted you into the wrong House?"

"Absolutely."

"When I was sorted, the hat insisted that I should go into Slytherin. It claimed that my ancestors had often been sorted into Slytherin. However, I did feel it was simply speculating this due to a rare ability I have. You wouldn't happen to know about this ability, would you?"

"An ability associated with Slytherin? Only one really comes to mind, and it is the reason for the House's symbol."

Tom nodded. "That's the one."

"Well, I can say that, although the occasional Slytherin has been in my family, no one in my family has had the ability of which you speak."

"That's understandable. Whether you are or aren't my ancestor, it doesn't necessarily mean I inherited everything or even anything from a particular side of the family. When was the last time you encountered a descendent and knew with certainty that they were one?"

"I would say somewhere around 150 years ago. If I recall correctly, there was a girl who was in Ravenclaw at the time. I heard rumors that her brother was a squib. She was quite distraught at first when it became evident in that he didn't get a letter to attend Hogwarts. Her parents thoroughly obliviated her brother before abdandoning him in the muggle world."

"That's horrible."

"I know. It's a terrible old custom, and from what I've observed during my existence, old families that appeared to die out because only squibs were born and then given such treatment tend to revive themselves over time. The children are believed to be spontaneously born with magic from muggles. I can't confirm that all muggleborn witches and wizards are descendents of squibs from dead pureblood family lines since the squibs did end up with muggles, resulting in different family names, but I have my suspicions."

"That makes sense. Now, you say the last time you knew a descendent was one was when that girl attended Hogwarts, but why? How come you didn't know her children?"

"I believe her children, if she had any, were squibs, just like her brother had been. I don't know if she gave them the same treatment her parents gave her brother though. I would hope not."

"Okay. Now, when was the last time you believed you encountered a possible descendent?"

"Not counting you?"

"Not counting me," Tom agreed.

"A little over a decade ago. She didn't share my last name or yours, but her father had dated a girl who had your last name, and I suspected she was a descendent."

"What made you suspect the Riddle girl was a descendent? Was it just the similarities in your last names?"

Juliet shook her head. "Despite my lack of skill with plants, people in my family have generally been good with them. It's connected to our affinity for life magic. It generally only goes as far as being able to make plants come alive and stay alive, but sometimes it can manifest far more strongly. I've heard of some being able to use their ability to keep animals and people alive when, by all accounts, the animal or person should have died. Once or twice it's been rumored that someone revived an animal or person who recently died. The Riddle girl revived this Slytherin boy's pet snake after someone had killed it. They only found out who had done it because the boy was a Parselmouth. Oh! Yes, I think it's very likely you are a descendent now."

"Can you tell me their names and what Houses they were in?"

"The Riddle girl was named... Elizabeth, I believe. She was believed to be a muggleborn and was in Hufflepuff. She, of course, was good with plants. The boy she befriended and later dated and even later I suspect she married was a Gaunt. His name was very much a wizard's name. I believe it began with an M. Marvino? Martolt? I'm not sure."

"Marvolo?"

"Perhaps. That sounds about right."

"That's my middle name."

"Really? Well, then that's probably right. Anyway, he was in Slytherin as were his two children. They had his last name and shared his ability to speak to snakes. I don't believe they shared their mother's affinity for life magic. Their names were... Morfin and... Merope. Morfin was older than Merope by a few years and was troubled, unstable. He nearly got expelled from Hogwarts for violent behavior. He struggled in school. Merope was quiet and a good student. She was a bit of a loner, but she never caused any trouble."

"Were there any other abilities among the Riddles and the Gaunts that traveled along family lines?"

"I think that the Gaunts at one point had an affinity for life magic similar to the Riddells, but that's all I can really think of."

"Do you know of any families that contain natural Legilimens?"

"There have been a few, but I haven't kept track of them I'm afraid."

"Did Merope or Morfin ever date anyone at Hogwarts?"

"No one would date Morfin since he was so off-putting, but Merope did have a couple of relationships though they didn't last long. They usually ended their relationships with her due to pressure from their families or their peers or because they were afraid of Morfin. Morfin was very controlling."

"Are you aware of any children they had?"

"If Morfin had any children, I suspect the mother was unwilling, so I would hope that he didn't have any."

"Who do you think was likely to be one of my parents? The only thing I know is that my mother died shortly after giving birth to me and naming me. My father wasn't around."

Juliet frowned. "You said your name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, right?"

Tom nodded.

"In that case, I would suspect you to be Merope's son. If you were Morfin's offspring and the woman didn't want you to have his last name, I don't see why she would name you after his father and give you his mother's maiden name. It's more likely that Merope named you after her parents intentionally. As for why you have her mother's maiden name, there are two possibilities that come to mind. The first is that you were born out of wedlock and she didn't want it to be assumed that you were Morfin's son nor did she feel it appropriate to give you the last name of a man she was no longer with. The second is that it was to hide your identity for whatever reason. Maybe she didn't want you to be found by her brother or your father. Considering how her brother was, I can understand if she didn't want him to be in your life."

"I grew up in an orphanage."

"How often were you beaten and belittled?"

"I suppose not too often. People are more likely to keep their distance."

"Morfin without a doubt abused Merope after their parents died. Trust me when I say you're better off not knowing him."

Tom glared, but it wasn't directed at Juliet. "He abused her? How dare he! Where is he now?"

"I have no idea." Noticing Tom's anger, Juliet decided to steer the conversation to lighter topics. "So tell me about yourself. I'm always curious about my descendents."

That sudden change of topic calmed Tom for the time being. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, what House are you in, Slytherin?"

"No, actually. I convinced the hat to place me in Ravenclaw."

"Why?"

"The professor who delivered my Hogwarts letter to me said he believed I'd do well in Ravenclaw, and when I learned about the Houses, I felt either Ravenclaw or Slytherin would suit me most. I paid attention to people before I was sorted and saw how different Houses reacted to each other. There was also the matter of blood purity and my inability to prove myself as anything other than a muggleborn. When I considered everything, including the fact the hat mainly wanted to put me in Slytherin because of my ability to speak Parseltongue and my possible ancestors, I felt Ravenclaw would be best for me."

"The Gaunts are descended from Salazar Slytherin, so that isn't too surprising."

"Right, but I don't think it should merely be abilities that determine one's House. Also, it seems strangely biased that it was only one inherited ability that led me to be considered for a particular House. Just because I share an ability with one of the founders doesn't make my other abilities less important."

"That's why you asked about families with natural Legilimens."

Tom nodded.

"I suppose that would be a clue you could use to find out who your father was. You must have inherited the ability from his side of the family."

"I also have the affinity for life magic you mentioned, beyond being good with plants. I've brought animals back to life before."

"How fortunate!"

"You really believe that?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

"It's just that I've heard that these abilities are associted with dark magic and that others would likely be afraid of me if they learned of my abilities."

"That is true, but I don't think your abilities are necessarily dark in and of themselves. It's all about how you choose to use them. I think that your abilities put you at an advantage. You aren't avoiding using your abilities and honing your skills out of fear of them being dark, are you?"

"No. I'm just careful about where and when I use them."

"Good. I think that's a suitable approach even if you were open about your abilities."

"This is an unrelated topic, but do you mind telling me how you died?" Tom couldn't help but feel curious.

"I was pushed off the Astronomy Tower in my sixth year."

Tom's eyes widened. "Why? Who did it?"

"A fellow classmate did it when I declined his offer to court me. I was interested in someone else, and he didn't take it well, to put it mildly."

"And what happened to him?"

"Oh, I pulled him off the tower as I fell. Last I heard, he was telling students a complete fiction of how and why he died."

"And what is that story?"

"He claims we were madly in love with each other but were kept apart by a family feud. I faked my death, and he, not having gotten the message, truly killed himself. Then I awoke, saw his dead body, and killed myself, unable to live without him."

"His name wouldn't happen to be Romeo, would it?"

"How'd you know?"

"Oh, it was just a hunch." Tom didn't really want to explain how her killer's lie had spread as the world's most popular love story. "He doesn't bother you anymore, does he?"

"No, he doesn't. It didn't take long for him to get bored of me after we died. We just don't bother interacting anymore."

It was not long after that the two went their separate ways. Both Tom and Juliet left the conversation feeling satisfied with what they'd learned.


	6. Prophesies

**Prophecies**

 _Summer 1940 - Autumn 1940_

Tom spent his summer much like the previous one, only he didn't make the mistake of going to Knockturn Alley this time when his list and funds for school supplies arrived. Along with his list and funds for school supplies came a permission slip for visiting Hogsmeade, a small wizarding town near Hogwarts. Tom had no trouble in getting Mrs. Cole to sign the permission slip, even though he knew he probably wouldn't go often or for long due to a lack of spending money.

When the new term began, Tom's schedule was filled with quite a few more classes than the previous year. He took Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Study of Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Arithmancy. The only elective among the five electives he had to choose from that he didn't take was Muggle Studies. Since he grew up in the muggle world, he had no use for it.

Among the classes he did decide to take, however, he didn't care much for Divination or Arithmancy. Both were about predicting the future, and both were quite useless if you weren't born a Seer. He ended up dropping both Divination and Arithmancy by the time winter break arrived since he still had enough electives. As luck would have it though, all third-year students were taken to the Department of Mysteries to hear prophesies that applied to them, if any did, right before the start of winter break.

* * *

 _Winter 1940_

William saw a group of students trailing behind the deputy headmaster of Hogwarts as he left the courtroom. They appeared to be heading for the Department of Mysteries. "Professor Dumbledore!" he called out.

The deputy headmaster greeted him politely. "Hello, William."

"Mind if I join? You're taking these students to the Department of Mysteries to hear any prophesies that may apply to them, yes?"

"I don't see why not, and yes, these are the third-year students. Hopefully this year a student or two has a prophesy that applies to them. Last year was quite the disappointment. No student had any prophesy that applied to them."

"That is a shame. I'd rather hoped my son would've had one. Have these students already been registered in case any prophesies arrive in the future?"

Albus nodded. "Yes, indeed, they have."

"Excellent." William continued walking beside the professor and spoke in a more hushed tone for the next question he had. "So, are there any particularly promising students in this group?"

"There is a boy who's been at the top of his year every year since his first year at Hogwarts. He's a magical prodigy, according to several of his professors. He picks up new information and spells easily."

"Is that so? Who is this boy?"

"Tom Riddle."

William's eyes widened slightly. "A muggleborn?"

"Presumably."

"Presumably," William repeated. "You don't know whether he is or isn't?" Pinpoint pressure began to build in the back of his head.

"It's impossible to know. He's an orphan."

"Oh, I see." William glanced behind himself at the group of third-year students trailing behind them. He swore he had just felt eyes drilling into his skull. "So which one is he?"

Albus didn't bother to look back at the group before answering. "He's likely at the very back of the group."

William quirked an eyebrow. "I'm surprised he's not at the front."

Albus' eyes twinkled. "He's full of surprises."

"You suspect there will be a prophesy involving him."

"Indeed."

It wasn't long before the two men and the third-year students reached the entrance of the Department of Mysteries. When they arrived, an unspeakable escorted the group through the Department of Mysteries to a room near the Hall of Prophresy, located within the Time Room. All of the students, including Tom, looked upon everything with awe and curiosity in their eyes.

The unspeakable spoke once everyone was inside the largely empty room that resembled a conference room. "Each of you will be escorted one at a time into the Hall of Prophesy as your name is called. You are not to touch any prophesy orb that does not have your name on it, or else you will instantly experience incurable madness. If you see a prophesy orb that you believe has your name on it, you will wait for approval before attempting to pick it up so that it can be verified that the prophesy is about you. Once again, this is to ensure your safety.

"After it is determined whether you do or do not have any prophesies that apply to you, and it is more likely than not that there will not be any prophesies that apply to you, you will be brought back here, and the next student will be called. If there are any prophesies that apply to you, you will be allowed to pick up the prophesy orb though you yourself won't be allowed to carry it back to this room, and you will be able to hear the prophesy once inside this room again."

The unspeakable began to call out students' names from a list and escorted each of them in and out of the Hall of Prophesy one by one. Strangely, Tom noted, she wasn't reading the names in any apparent order.

Eventually, the unspeakable called "Tom Riddle," the last student on her list and the only student in the group who had any prophesies waiting to be heard at the moment.

Despite how seemingly randomly the names on the list had been called, they hadn't been called randomly at all. The Hall of Prophesy was large, filled with a dizzying number of prophesies, and the unspeakables were given a list with all of the visiting students' names weeks in advance. They determined where a student's prophesy orb would be located if they were to have one and made note of the location as well as whether there actually were any prophesies about the student in question. It allowed the process to go by much more quickly when the students actually did arrive, and it allowed the unspeakables to provide a proper experience for the students. Students were more in awe when unspeakables appeared all-knowing right away, and making sure that the students who had prophesies about them were called at the end made everything all the more intriguing and also prevented many students from feeling too disappointed when they didn't have a prophesy unlike another classmate.

Tom followed the unspeakable out of the room and into the Hall of Prophesy where he saw shelves upon shelves covered in orbs reaching far and high in the large room. The unspeakable took Tom to where any prophesy orbs that he'd be allowed to pick up would be if there were any prophesies that applied to him. To his surprise, he saw that there were two orbs with his name appearing beneath them. Not only did a prophesy apply to him, but two did! Strangely, question marks appeared beneath his name.

When Tom received the unspeakable's approval to lift the orbs, he lifted each orb carefully and placed them inside a bag the unspeakable held out for him to place the orbs into. The unspeakable carried the bag with the orbs and led the teenager out of the Hall of Prophesy, back to the room where Professor Dumbledore, the ministry worker, and the other third-year students were.

Once inside the room, the unspeakable closed the door and cleared her throat before speaking. "Mr. Riddle here has two prophesies that apply to him at this time."

Students murmured, but the unspeakable continued. "I will cast a spell that will allow each prophesy to be heard. Please be silent so that the prophesies can be properly heard." She pulled out one of the orbs from the bag she was carrying and tapped it while nonverbally casting the spell. Then a woman's voice could be heard speaking in a strange tone:

 _The phoenix will rest when the hallowed one consumes his soul... summer and winter combine with the kiss of death... and death will touch the one who dies and the one who lives time and time again... the phoenix will rest when the hallowed one gives him the kiss of death._

No one in the room really knew what to make of that one. Clearly Tom was either the phoenix or the hallowed one in this prophesy, and somehow death was involved, but other than that, the meaning of the prophesy was unclear at this point.

The unspeakable swapped the orb she was carrying for the one in her bag and performed the same magic as before. This time, a man's voice could be heard speaking in the same strange tone the woman reciting the other prophesy had had:

 _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to one unwillingly, born as the year dies... and the lost heir will have the power to surpass the Dark Lord, for he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not... and one must die at the hand of the other, for only one can master death... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the year dies..._

The meaning behind this prophesy was much easier to understand than the other, and it shocked everyone in the room. The overall message was that Tom had the power to vanquish "the Dark Lord," and the only dark lord that came to everyone's minds at this time was Gellert Grindelwald. The natural conclusion was that Tom would have the power to defeat Grindelwald.

While each prophesy orb was activated, Tom had written the prophesies into his diary with the pauses included so that he could study them in greater detail later on. He felt that both prophesies had potentially negative consequences for him. In particular, both suggested that he might be destined to be killed, and Tom had zero interest in dying.

Albus had found the language of the first prophesy to be peculiar, but when he heard the second prophesy, he grew very concerned. Both prophesies included language that could be related to the Deathly Hallows: "the hallowed one" in the first and "master [of] death" in the second.

William had looked at Tom with a calculating glint in his eye the entire time the prophesies had been recited. The boy was a magical prodigy and at the top of his class, and he had two prophesies that applied to him. It was clear the teenager was special.

The more that William looked at Tom, the more familiar he looked as well. Tom looked so much like himself at 13 except for his coloring. Tom's hair color, eye color, and skin tone were all different from his own, but otherwise, he greatly resembled him. It was unnerving because he had been careful with his extramarital dalliances, even early on in his marriage. He had never heard of any of the women coming up pregnant, and no one had ever tried to blackmail him or sue him for any money in relation to having his child. As far as he was aware, he only had one child, a son who was a year older than Tom, which he'd had with his wife.

The man attempted to recall who he'd been involved with outside of his marriage in the months right after his son had been born. He remembered that he'd wanted revenge on the Gaunts around the same time, and awareness flashed into his mind: Merope Gaunt. When William had stopped giving her Amortentia, he had heard about her leaving the village and at one point even sent a private investigator to find out about her whereabouts and whatever she was getting up to, just in case he needed to take steps to deal with her. The investigator had informed him about the woman's death but failed to mention anything about her son.

For now, William intended to not say anything to his illegitimate son about their relation. He would wait to see just how Tom turned out first before deciding what to do about him. He was thankful that no one seemed to notice the resemblance between himself and the teenager. It likely helped that his legitimate son took more after his mother rather than himself in looks.

It occured to him too now that the odd pressure he'd felt in his head earlier must have been Tom attempting to use legilimency on him. He just hadn't recognized the obvious symptom because no one had bothered to attempt to enter his mind for many years, and he certainly never would have expected a mere teenager to have the audacity to try, let alone have the ability. What was most interesting, however, was that Tom had managed to do as much as he had without even looking at him in the eye.

"Well," the unspeakable spoke as she put away the other orb, "those prophesies were certainly interesting. I wish you luck, Mr. Riddle."

Once the unspeakable ushered the students out of the room and out of the Deparment of Mysteries altogether, William made his leave. He had other matters to attend to and learned more than had intended to already.

After William left, Tom walked up to Professor Dumbledore. "Professor, who was the man who came with us to the Department of Mysteries?" he asked.

Neutrally, Albus responded, "William Hangleton. He's a member of the Wizengamot."

"A politician?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything else you can tell me about him?"

"I would advise you to be careful around him if you have to deal with him."

Tom frowned. "He's dangerous?"

"I can't say so officially, but yes, he is."

"What else can you tell me about him?"

"Why do you want to know more about him, Tom?" Albus knew that if Tom was being this insistent in his questioning about something that he had some sort of objective in his mind.

"He's one of the people I see in the mirror. I don't look at it much nowadays, but I swear I've seen him there."

"You believe you're related?"

"More than that. I suspect he's my father."

"Your father? What do you plan to do? Do you want him to bring you into his family?"

Tom shook his head. "I'm not planning to do anything right now, and I don't think I'd be wanted anyway. One of the prophesies did say that I was born to one unwillingly, didn't it? I also got the impression that he recognized who I was, yet he didn't say anything to me. I think it's pretty clear that he never wanted me. I'm not going to waste my time."

"It's likely for the best. He actually has a son just a year older than you who attends Hogwarts. If you truly are his son, it could be problematic for the whole family."

"I understand." Tom walked alongside the professor in silence for a bit. "So what do you think of the prophesies?"

"I think that life is going to become a lot more difficult for you, unfortunately."

"You're probably right. In the least, I'm going to have the spotlight on me in a way that I didn't have to deal with before I'm sure."

"If you want to continue your extracurricular studies, you will need to be more careful."

"I'm almost finished with the books in the Room, so it won't be too much of an inconvenience on that level. If I am supposed to defeat some sort of dark lord, however, I think I need more to study and practice than I could from the books in the main part of the library."

"You want access to the Restricted Section."

"Yes."

"I might be able to get you limited access to the Restricted Section, but I'll have to discuss the matter with Headmaster Dippet. In the meantime, we could see about helping you get more hands-on experience with combative magic. The dueling club could get started again."

Tom nodded. "Anything that could help is appreciated."

In the Atrium, the third-year students, minus Tom, were picked up by their relatives to take them home for the winter break. Since Tom was the only third-year student remaining at Hogwarts, Albus simply apparated Tom and himself outside of Hogsmeade. Then they made their way to the castle, lost in their thoughts.


	7. The Admirer

**The** **Admirer**

 _Winter 1940 - Spring 1941_

Dear Tom,

Word has spread that you are prophesied to vanquish Grindelwald. Regardless of the validity of this rumor, this rumor is all but guaranteed to have consequences for you. At best, you will find people flinging themselves at you, all in the hopes of having your newfound fame rub off on them. At worst, you will face threats upon your life; I'm quite certain of it. Neither scenario appeals to you I know. You'd prefer to not be in the spotlight. You mostly keep to yourself. I know it's not because of any shyness, but I sympathize with you nonetheless. You value privacy, and yet you will lose it greatly once the term begins.

You may be wondering who I am and what I'm hoping to achieve by writing to you. At this time, I don't feel confident enough to reveal my identity, but I can say that what I'm hoping to achieve, over time, is your affection, and I desire to get to know you better and help you out if I can. I have gifted you a book that I hope you'll find useful in your extracurricular studies.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

Thank you for the gift. It will be most helpful. I appreciate your concern over my well-being and your sympathy. I must admit that I do feel uncomfortable with the idea of someone observing me as much as you seem to have. How did you know I was looking for this sort of book?

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

I'm glad that you find the book useful. I apologize that my notice of you has made you feel uncomfortable. I promise you that I haven't been stalking you or anything of the sort. You simply caught my eye, so I just notice you more than I would otherwise. I actually had no idea you were looking for a book of the sort I sent you. I just thought you could make good use of it. The fact is that if dark wizards are to come after you you need to be able to fight back on their level. I just happen to have access to books of a darker nature than what a student generally has access to due to my family.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

That is reassuring. I agree that I need to know the same spells as dark wizards if I want to have any chance of defending myself should the occasion arise. I take it your family practices a fair bit of dark magic?

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

Yes. I'd prefer to not say more about it in a letter. On a different note, how are you liking your classes? I'm most curious about the electives.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

I understand. I like all my classes just fine. I did drop two electives before the winter break began, however. I take it you're a second year? I would advise you to not bother with Divination or Arithmancy unless you're a seer. They are utterly useless otherwise.

I didn't take Muggle Studies since I actually grew up in the muggle world. I have considered possibly taking the OWL for it without taking the class just because I would likely pass it with ease. I think I'd be able to argue that I don't need the class to take the OWL due to my upbringing. If you're a pureblood wizard and able to take the class without your family getting upset about it, it might be worthwhile for you to take. I don't know your stance on "blood purity," but either way, it is beneficial to know about muggles. There are more of them than of us in the world after all. Of course, as I haven't taken the class, I'm not sure what is being taught in the class. For all I know, the information could be severely outdated. If you know of any muggleborn or halfblood witches or wizards who are taking the class, they could tell you how accurate or outdated the information is. Why they would bother to take the class I don't know. Perhaps they are hoping to just coast by for one of their electives.

Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures are both interesting to me. I can't say how useful either subject is if you don't plan to work in certain fields, but I enjoy them nonetheless.

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

Yes, I'm a second year. Your reasons for not taking Divination and Arithmancy make sense. It is a bit funny that you don't care for either subject when I heard you have two prophesies about you.

I probably won't take Muggle Studies. I agree with your reasoning, but my family would definitely not approve even if I made a "know thy enemy" argument. They are very staunchly pureblood supremacists. Even attempting to learn anything about muggles would cause me problems. Perhaps you can teach me some things in secret. I don't wish to remain in the dark just because of my family. Of course, I also don't have any muggleborns I can associate with, and it's tricky to even associate with halfbloods though it's allowed at least.

I will probably take Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures for my two electives. I might take Arithmancy even if it is pretty useless for predicting things only because of the mathematics involved. If I wanted to become a cursebreaker, for instance, I would have to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy to the NEWT level. I don't know what I want to do yet, but I don't want to limit my options either. The jobs that require Divination and Muggle Studies I wouldn't even consider. I'm no seer, and I don't want to work as an unspeakable in any department that involves prophesies. I also don't want to work in the Muggle Liason or Misuse of Muggle Artifacts offices at the Ministry.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

I actually dropped those two classes right before I learned that third-year students are taken to hear prophesies at the Ministry at the start of winter break. Even knowing that there are two prophesies that involve me, I don't regret dropping the subjects. They wouldn't be of any help in analyzing these prophesies.

I had no idea that you needed to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy to the NEWT level in order to become a cursebreaker. They really should tell us before third year which jobs require which classes and to what level. Why would the math in Arithmancy matter for curse breaking?

The one benefit to not having any family in my life is that I don't have to consider what my family would think when deciding what I want to learn or do. I'm sorry that your family limits your options. How is it that you're able to write to me? Is it because they don't know? Is that why you didn't want to tell me who you are? I'm pretty sure I'm a halfblood, but I can't prove it, so it looks to the world like I'm a muggleborn. I take it you aren't a pureblood supremacist like your family members, so what is your stance?

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

I didn't realize that the school doesn't tell you about jobs and how classes connect to them before third year, but you're right. I think they tell you once you're in your fifth year, and it could be too late by then. I only know because I have heard from other family members. Arithmancy is required if you want to become a cursebreaker because usually cursebreaking is done on tombs in Egypt and other places with ruins. The math is necessary for calculating value. It's about money, really.

I didn't know that you didn't have any family in your life. You're an orphan? Is that why you stay at Hogwarts for the winter?

My family doesn't know I'm writing to you, but I don't normally tell them who I'm writing to anyway, nor do they usually ask. I didn't want to say who I was because I wanted for us to get to know each other better first. Do you really want to know who I am? I'd rather find a way for us to meet rather than say in writing.

I don't actually care whether you are a muggleborn or a halfblood, but if you are a halfblood, that would make things easier. Because I know I don't actually know anything about muggles, I don't truly have a stance on them. Honestly, because they don't appear to affect my life at all, I don't really care about them one way or another. As for the notion that muggleborns are muggles who stole magic from witches and wizards, I don't believe it. How would muggles even manage such a feat without magic? And if they could do such a thing and were doing such a thing, why isn't there all-out war between the magical and muggle world right now? It makes no sense. And the argument can't be that the Ministry is controlled by a bunch of people who love muggles or anything of the sort. The Ministry is controlled primarily by purebloods, particularly purebloods with a lot of money, and most of them tend to be pureblood supremacists.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

I suppose that if I ever wanted to become a cursebreaker I could see about taking some sort of test on mathematics. You don't really learn it before Hogwarts in the wizarding world I think. In the muggle world, it's one of the core subjects you learn from the time you start school. I might know enough math already.

Yes, I'm an orphan, and it's part of why I stay at Hogwarts for the winter. There's no one I really care about at the orphanage and vice versa. Plus, there isn't much to do at the orphanage. At least at Hogwarts I have access to the library and can explore the castle and the grounds. I can even practice spells here. The solitude doesn't bother me, and the atmosphere is cheery and pleasant overall. The orphanage is rather dull and somewhat depressing. If I could, I'd stay at Hogwarts over the summers as well.

As long as you don't have to outright lie to your family, I suppose that's fine. I don't want to cause problems for you. I would like to know who you are but am fine with waiting some time before you tell me. Do I even know you though? I might not. If you want to introduce yourself in person instead of through a letter, I wouldn't mind. In fact, it might be better if you take that approach if I am unlikely to know you.

I have certain magical abilities that are passed down through bloodlines, which is why I am certain I'm a halfblood rather than a muggleborn. It's probably best if I don't say what abilities I have. I was advised to not tell others about my abilities since they tend to be perceived as "dark" by many witches and wizards even though they aren't inherently so.

Knowing what you don't know is a good thing. It's wise of you to not have a stance on something you don't know anything about. I don't believe muggleborns are muggles who stole magic either. I agree that you'd need to use magic in order to steal someone's magic.

I have reason to believe that muggleborns are not truly children of muggles. I had a conversation with a ghost of a likely ancestor of mine who was telling me about how many muggleborns appear to be revived family lines of pureblood family lines that died out in the past. A lot of incest occurs among purebloods in order to keep their blood "pure," and over time, it leads to squibs being produced if any children are able to be produced.

Infertility and defects of both a mental and physical nature are common side effects of too much inbreeding, and muggles are aware of this. It would make sense if one such physical defect among wizards would be an inability to use or access their magic, thus making them squibs. Because squibs are often cast out of pureblood families into the muggle world, often even getting obliviated before being abandoned there, they don't know that they aren't muggles, and they mix with muggles. Eventually, when the blood isn't so tainted by the past incest of the pureblood family line, offspring is produced that can do magic and appears to be "muggleborn."

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

I'm sorry that you have to live in such an unfortunate place as an orphanage. It does sound dreadful. I'd try to stay at Hogwarts as much as possible too if I were in your position.

You aren't a problem for me, and it was I who chose to start our correspondence after all. I don't think you know me, but you'd recognize my family name I'm sure. As the term is about to start up again, I'm thinking I'll devise a plan for us to meet.

I am curious as to what abilities you're referring to, but I understand if you don't want to say at this time. I wouldn't be bothered by abilities associated with dark magic.

I never thought about it all like that. Muggleborns being descended from squibs makes a lot of sense. I thought it was that muggles were spontaneously developing magic. Then again, why are there wizards and muggles? We look the same and are capable of creating offspring together, but wizards can do magic and muggles can't, and yet squibs are a thing. Do you think it is possible that some muggleborns truly are muggles who spontaneously developed magic? It still doesn't answer all of my questions as to why there are muggles at all or wizards at all instead of just one or the other.

I had wondered why infertility is such a big issue, especially for pureblood families. Your explanation fits perfectly.

I definitely disagree with the practice of getting rid of one's child just because the child is unable to do magic. If you love your child, why would you get rid of them for something they have no control over? A child doesn't choose to not be able to do magic after all. In fact, squibs very much wish they could do magic. A cousin of mine was sent away from home, likely obliviated beforehand, once it became clear he couldn't do magic. I didn't like that at all, and I'll never see him again. Even if I did, he wouldn't recognize me.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

Would I be correct in assuming you're a Slytherin? Most of the well-known pureblood families concerned about blood purity are in Slytherin as far as I can tell. I feel like you, personally, could've fit into Ravenclaw just fine though.

I would like to meet you sometime. You seem like someone I could get along well with based on the conversations we've been having. That's a pretty rare feat. I'm usually bored or annoyed quickly by people. You certainly have my attention.

I'll consider discussing my abilities with you once we've met. Perhaps I'll demonstrate them sometime. I suppose you wouldn't be bothered by dark abilities considering the book you gave me. That reminds me. I finished reading the book. Would you like me to return it? I've already jotted down notes, so I don't need to keep it if you need it back.

Once again, we can look to what muggles have discovered to provide some possible answers. There was a time thousands of years ago when there multiple human species. At least some were able to reproduce with each other. Eventually, only one human species remained. However, one could argue that due to some of the mixing of the human species that more than one human species technically survived. Anyway, considering all of that, I would think that wizards and muggles are two separate human species that branched off of the human species that survived back then considering how we look the same. Those other human species had distinct differences in appearance. Now why there was a branch that developed the ability to use magic and a branch that didn't I don't know. Of course, this is all speculation.

Another possibility that goes into a greater realm of speculation is that wizards and muggles have nothing to do with each other and that it is magic that allows for any mixing of the two. The wizarding world does appear to operate in another dimension from the muggle world. In that case, muggle and wizard evolution has no connection. I would think that the reason the muggle and wizarding worlds are able to interact at all is that somehow the dimension that contains the wizarding world not only is operating in the same space as the muggle world but somehow has points that intersect. I don't know why or how this would be, so I would say magic is the reason for the time being.

The practice of getting rid of one's child because of conditions they were born with is a practice among muggles too, unfortunately. People often want children out of hopes of receiving unconditional love, and yet they don't provide the same in return. I'd argue that all love is conditional, but regardless, if you decide to have a child, so long as they aren't causing harm to others, you shouldn't toss them aside simply because they didn't turn out as you wanted, especially when the child had no control over the matter.

I'm sorry about you cousin. Hopefully he is able to have a good life in the muggle world. He might actually do better there.

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

I am in Slytherin, and the hat did consider Ravenclaw. It's for the best that it placed me into Slytherin, considering my family.

I had wondered why I saw you alone so much. I figured you simply liked solitude. Do you not actually like to be alone so much?

If you don't need to keep the book, you can return it. I took it from the family library. No one has touched it in ages, so I figured it was safe to give away. It is probably for the best if I put it back though. I could lend you more books if you'd like. If there are certain subjects in particular you want to study, just let me know.

Those are some interesting theories. And they are based on muggle concepts? They're much more comprehensive than what wizards have come up with.

People in my family largely have children because it's what's expected. No personal feelings are involved. Parents generally do love their children, but maintaining certain ideals is seen as more important. Why do you think love is conditional?

Now that school has started up again, how are you handling things? I've noticed you've been surrounded by quite a few people lately.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

I do enjoy solitude, but it would be nice to have some decent company. I'd rather be alone than around people who bore or annoy me. People tend to only be interesting in small doses I find.

I'll return the book. Thank you. I might take you up on your offer, but I'll wait and see how the term goes first. I might be getting access to the Restricted Section of the library. We'll see.

The ideas I mentioned are based on muggle concepts, yes. Muggles don't know about wizards actually existing, however, so those are not theories they developed but how I think muggles would view the situation if they were aware.

Do your parents expect you to have children? I'm not sure if I even want to have children someday. A part of me thinks I should just because of the magical abilities I have that can only be passed down through blood, but I'm undecided.

I think love is based on how you're treated and how you treat someone in return. People don't simply love everyone, nor do people love all of their family members. If someone you once loved wrongs you horribly enough, you will likely cease to love them. The same applies in reverse.

I'm feeling mostly annoyed by the attention, honestly. These people never paid attention to me before, but now they're interested because I'm the "chosen one." It's nonsense.

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

I hope you'll find my company pleasant in large doses and the same in return.

I hope you do get access to the Restricted Section. There are surely a lot of books there that could help you.

My parents don't expect me to have children per se. I am not the oldest child, and my parents have arranged a marriage between my older sister and a cousin of ours. They are expected to have children once they're married. Because the last name is the same, the family name will go on. Since that's the case, I won't be expected to have children. It'd be preferred, but I won't have to have children. I don't suspect I'll ever marry or have children of my own anyway. It's not a matter of whether I want to or not. I simply won't be able to.

Your reasoning makes sense, but it doesn't explain people who love people even when they really would be better off if they didn't.

I understand not wanting the attention, but you are the "chosen one," aren't you?

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

I hope your sister wants children and is able to have them. It's unfortunate that she's going to be in an arranged marriage. Hopefully they are able to love one another or at least be happy together.

I'm glad that you don't have the same expectations placed on you. Why don't you think you'll ever marry or have children of your own?

Sometimes people love people when they shouldn't. I'll give you that. I don't know how to explain that except that they must be mad.

In a way, I am the "chosen one," but officially, the prophesy doesn't say that I am the sole person who would be involved in defeating Grindelwald, nor does it ever mention his name, nor does it actually say I would defeat anyone. What it does say is that I would "have the power to vanquish the dark lord." That isn't quite so clear. Part of the prophesy suggested that I might actually die at the hands of whatever dark lord the prophesy is referring to.

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

I'm a boy, and I only like boys, so there is really no chance for marrying or having children of my own.

So the prophesy might not have to do with Grindelwald at all? And I very much hope you don't die. I want to help however I can to ensure you live.

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

Oh, well that's a surprise. I suppose that makes sense then.

Exactly. It's not as though Grindelwald is the first, only, or last dark lord in the world. Even after he's dealt with, in time, another will appear. It's the nature of the world. I appreciate your concern. Realistically, the most you can really do is lend me books.

So when were you thinking of us meeting?

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

Dear Tom,

You don't mind that I'm gay?

That's a rather bleak way to view the world, but I think you're right.

I was thinking of meeting after Valentine's Day. What kinds of flowers do you like? Or sweets? Or would you like something else?

With fondness, Yours Truly

* * *

Dear Yours Truly,

I don't mind. I can't guarantee I'll return your feelings at this time, but I'm not bothered by the fact that you're a boy. It is just a bit surprising. That's all.

That's fine. Lilies are my favorite type of flower, and I most enjoy dark chocolate. You don't need to get me either, however.

Sincerely, Tom

* * *

On Valentine's Day, Tom received three lilies and a box of dark chocolate from his secret admirer. The gift came with a note, telling him that they'd meet at the Astronomy Tower at 8pm that night. Tom also received gifts from various other people, and while he accepted the gifts without issue, he felt nothing about the gifts others gave him. They had never noticed him before nor given him any gifts before after all.

That night, Tom arrived at the Astronomy Tower a few minutes early. When it hit 8 o'clock, a boy of average height with neat black hair and soft grey eyes entered. Tom knew instantly that the boy was a member of the Black family. The boy startled when he realized Tom was already there and laughed nervously.

"Um, hi, I'm Alphard," the boy introduced himself with a slight blush on his cheeks.

Tom smiled in a friendly manner and replied, "It's nice to meet you, Alphard. I have to say you weren't wrong when you said I'd know your family." He offered his hand for the other boy to shake.

Alphard shook his hand and let it go. "You won't tell anyone will you?"

"I see no reason to tell anyone. Like you've noted, I appreciate my privacy. I enjoy being able to talk freely with you."

Alphard relaxed slightly. "That's good to hear."

When Alphard had first noticed Tom months prior, he hadn't had any hope of being able to become acquainted with him. The fact that he actually had managed to not only gain Tom's attention but his interest was more than he could have expected. In truth, when he'd finally gotten the courage to contact Tom, he was certain the older boy would've thrown his letter in the trash. It was partly why he included a book he knew Tom would find useful with that first letter. It was a gift of course, but it was also a way of piquing interest. Most people would surely at least reply to someone who sent them a gift, especially a useful one. Whether Tom would have replied to his letter if the book hadn't been attached was unknowable really.

Alphard hadn't lied to Tom when he said he hadn't stalked him, but he hadn't been completely truthful when he'd said he'd just noticed him extra. He had discretely inquired about Tom when presented with opportunities to do so. Alphard also knew that they both spent a lot of time in the library. He spent more time in the library than Tom and wasn't sure where Tom went in his spare time when he wasn't in the library in the evenings, but the fact of the matter was that they both spent a lot of time in the library. It was in the library that Alphard had first noticed the handsome, studious boy. He could also admit that he felt similar to how Tom did about his peers: Most weren't all that interesting but rather annoying. It was a major reason why he spent so much time in the library.

The timing of the first letter being sent to Tom was very much intentional. Alphard knew it was then or never if he wanted to grab Tom's attention. He had to start building a relationship before Tom would be swarmed by others. If Alphard had waited until after the term had begun, Tom would've viewed him as negatively as he viewed all of the people seeking his attention right then. It wouldn't have mattered that Alphard's interest began before the revelation of the prophesies. Tom would've viewed him with suspicion and contempt.

Tom wasn't the most trusting of people even before, and Alphard knew that. He might have gotten along decently with the other students, but it was obvious, at least to him, that Tom kept his distance and that it was intentional. If Tom didn't have an attitude that so strongly conveyed apathy with the barest hint of sympathy, essentially giving off the air of a polite, oddly formal youth, he would've been swarmed by admirers before. Tom was easily the most handsome, most intelligent, and most powerful student in his year, and his potential was greater than most.

Of course, Alphard had first noticed Tom for his looks, but it was how much he studied and what he studied and how he acted that led to a growing fascination, a fascination that eventually led to him standing right before his crush on Valentine's Day in the Astronomy Tower.


	8. The Patronus

**The Patronus**

 _Spring 1941- Spring 1942_

Tom didn't realize it at the time, but deciding to meet with Alphard Black at the Astronomy Tower that Valentine's Day was one of the most important decisions he'd make in his life. Alphard wasn't destined to be more than a chapter of Tom's life, although neither of them knew that, but Tom's life would have been very different if he'd never met him. Alphard, if circumstances would have allowed it, would have been a suitable life companion for Tom.

Alphard became Tom's first real friend, and it happened quickly and easily. It could be argued that they became friends through their exchange of letters before they ever met, but Tom would have argued that one can't become friends with someone without meeting them, and Alphard would have agreed with him.

It was after meeting at the Astronomy Tower that they became fast friends. Alphard understood Tom on an intuitive level, which was convenient for both boys. It prevented tensions from rising up in their relationship that otherwise might have. They also had similar ways of looking at things and similar levels of intellect. They could discuss politics or magical theories and gain new perspectives without any risk of harm to the friendship.

It took one month after meeting at the Astronomy Tower for Tom to introduce Alphard to the Room of Requirement. It was in the Room of Requirement that Tom practiced some of the darker spells he learned thanks to Alphard, and Alphard would simply observe until Tom felt he had a strong enough grasp to teach Alphard the spells. Tom also gained limited access to the Restricted Section, but it was enough to give him more spells to learn.

Two more months went by with Tom and Alphard spending most of their free time together, whether they were in the library, in the Room of Requirement, or on the castle grounds, and Tom decided to let Alphard know about some of his abilities since he had come to realize that Alphard truly had no issue with dark magic and seemed to actively encourage use of it. Alphard didn't wish anyone to come to harm, and many dark spells were incredibly harmful, but Alphard was practical and wanted Tom to be able to handle himself should a dark wizard seek to cause him harm, so he did encourage Tom. Instead of being horrified upon learning of Tom's ability to speak to snakes, Alphard was in awe. And Alphard only felt a little self-conscious when he learned that Tom was also a Legilimens. Tom didn't reveal his necromancy abilities that school year.

When the summer came around, the two boys exchanged letters with each other in order to keep in contact. Alphard sent his owl with instructions to deliver his letters to Tom at night so as to avoid the suspicion of muggles, and the owl would either wait in Tom's room quietly or on a tree outside the orphanage until Tom handed her a letter to take back to Alphard. Tom had found a few more books worth taking with him to read over the summer in the Room of Requirement before the term ended, and those books and Alphard's correspondence were what he had to look forward to.

It was through a letter Alphard sent Tom that Tom learned about Donna Abbott breaking out of Azkaban. The fact that someone had managed to break out of Azkaban was concerning enough, but the seriousness of the situation was heightened by the fact that she was a strong supporter of Grindelwald's. She was a fanatic and had committed all sorts of violence, up to and including murder, all in the name of the dark lord's cause. How she broke out no one knew and no one would ever learn, but her tactic was the same one that a man named Sirius Black would take someday in the future.

It was obvious to both Tom and Alphard that she had escaped because news had finally reached her that Tom was prophesied to vanquish the dark wizard she supported. She'd likely seek out Tom and try to destroy him. Donna Abbott's devotion to Grindelwald and his cause was a case of Hufflepuff loyalty at its worst.

Tom and Alphard met up in Diagon Alley about a month before the new term began. Walburga, Alphard's older sister by two years, was very helpful in arranging this and preventing their parents from getting suspicious. She, like Alphard, held the belief that Tom was not a muggleborn, and while she did still care about blood status, she didn't care to the same extent their parents did.

Walburga knew very well that Alphard had a crush on the "chosen one," and she had no problem with assisting him in his attempts to get closer to or woo the boy. In fact, she had been the one to obtain the lilies and chocolates that Alphard had given to Tom on Valentine's Day as she had been able to go to Hogsmeade and buy the items at that time. Tom, of course, hadn't seen her because he hadn't bothered to go to Hogsmeade; he didn't have any money anyway.

Tom didn't know that Walburga knew of Alphard's feelings for him, and it wasn't something Alphard would have told him either. Walburga only knew because she'd intercepted a letter once and had proceeded to question Alphard until he gave her an answer she believed. She'd already known her brother was gay. She had known before he had known that about himself.

Walburga was also perceptive enough to notice that Alphard's feelings weren't completely one-sided. Tom might not have been aware of how he felt, and his feelings might not have matched Alphard's in strength, but they were definitely there, and Walburga could see it clearly.

Tom was known for being distant with people, and he usually had a look of bland politeness on his face. To see real emotion leak through beyond curiousity was unusual, and yet he was unguarded with Alphard. Alphard could make him smile and laugh or openly express his frustrations or worries. While Walburga didn't quite get to observe all of this herself, she knew it was the case. She also didn't fail to notice the fond expression Tom had on his face while speaking with Alphard or how his eyes followed him as he walked away.

Unlike most years, the train ride to Hogwarts this year was an eventful one. Because it was presumed, correctly, that Donna Abbott would seek out Tom Riddle, it had been decided that dementors should come to Hogwarts for the students' protection and to catch the dark witch. At one point during the train ride the train stopped so that the dementors could make their way through the train and find Donna if she was somehow there. She wasn't there.

When two dementors glided by the compartment that Tom was in with Alphard, they stopped, sensing something that felt similar to their own kind but different somehow. One opened the door, and then they both went inside. They looked at Tom, feeling confused, not that anyone would have been able to tell by looking at them. All they saw was a normal-looking boy, but they sensed his dark abilities, namely his connection to death as he was a natural necromancer. One tried to speak to him, but it just sounded like a strange sort of breathing to Tom. Alphard shivered from the cold and from fear. Without the dementors even trying to suck the happiness out of him, Alphard fainted.

By the time Alphard awoke, the dementors had left. Alphard nearly startled but found that he was lying on a seat with his head on Tom's lap. Tom noticed he was awake and persuaded him to have some chocolate. According to the fourth-year textbook for Defense Against the Dark Arts, having chocolate after being temporarily exposed to a dementor helped you get better.

Neither Alphard nor Tom understood why they had the reactions they did to the dementors. Alphard appeared to have been especially affected by their presence while Tom hadn't been affected at all. Tom hadn't even felt the air get chilly. Neither boy had a traumatic past, and Tom's past was certainly worse than Alphard's.

At the welcoming feast, it was announced that the dementors would be patrolling outside to catch Donna Abbott should she come to Hogwarts. Headmaster Dippet didn't want the dementors around the students, but he had no choice. It was decided by the Ministry.

Patronus charms weren't normally taught to students due to the difficulty involved, but because of the dementors' presence, it was decided that students of every year would be taught the charm for their protection, lest the dementors decide they needed a snack.

Tom struggled with the spell for a while because he didn't have powerful happy memories. Other students struggled at times for the same reason and at other times simply due to errors in technique or lack of ability. Tom eventually found a solution to his problem: happy thoughts instead of happy memories. He simply thought of how much he liked Alphard and wanted to keep him safe, and it worked to fuel his patronus, which was a doe, much to everyone's surprise. Alphard's patronus didn't form anything other than mist; it was still more than what most students were able to accomplish.

Although Tom and Alphard often enjoyed spending time together outside the castle on the grounds, they quickly realized they could no longer do that, nor could they attend the Quidditch matches between the different Houses. The dementors were strangely drawn to the pair and even to them individually. If Tom was walking outside without Alphard, the dementors would seek him out and cause anyone nearby to faint. If Alphard was walking outside alone, the dementors would seek him out, and he'd faint. Together, dementors sought both out, and the same pattern occurred, only Tom was usually quick enough with his wand that he'd cast a patronus before Alphard fainted.

Tom began to research all that he could in relation to amortality and immortality. Dementors were considered amortal because they were not known to be born or to die. It was believed that they simply were. They couldn't be created or destroyed. Yet they were creatures of darkness and suffering and could be fought with light and happiness. It didn't make much sense to Tom that a creature could be so balanced in certain ways yet be so imbalanced in other ways. In truth, little was really known about dementors and their origins, and if any did disappear, no one would exactly notice that either as they all looked the same to humans.

Based on one book Tom found in the depths of the Restricted Section, it appeared that dementors historically were drawn to natural necromancers. Since they were so rare, it wasn't something commonly observed. The natural necromancers were unaffected by the dementors because of their connection to death, yet this had the side effect of making everyone around them experience the dementors' effects more strongly.

Alphard was sought out by the dementors because he spent so much time around Tom that they sensed Tom when they were near Alphard, and Alphard was affected by them so strongly even when Tom wasn't around because of all the time he spent around Tom. Tom couldn't be certain, but he suspected that dementors were supposed to guard necromancers, keeping everyone else away.

Tom explained his hypothesis to Alphard one day, and in the process, he revealed to him that he was a natural necromancer. Alphard couldn't resist asking for a demonstration.

The two teenagers went into the Forbidden Forrest one afternoon, careful that they wouldn't get caught on the way in. There was a clearing that Tom had found two years prior that seemed like a good place to provide a demonstration. He sat on the ground with his legs crossed, closed his eyes, placed both hands on the ground in front of him, and reached out with his magic. Alphard saw the plants in the clearing wilt and wither and the grass turn brown. Shortly afterwards, he saw the grass turn green once again and the plants become revitalized.

Alphard saw the small smile of satisfaction on Tom's face and decided then that he really wanted Tom to be his boyfriend, not simply his friend. He would have accepted a rejection and continued the friendship, but he had to at least try. As Tom finished reviving the plant life in the clearing, looking very much at peace, Alphard asked him out on a date to Hogsmeade the next time a trip came up, making it clear that he would pay for them both and had no issue with doing so. Tom accepted.

Tom wasn't certain he felt as strongly about Alphard as Alphard felt about him, but he'd come to realize over his months of friendship with him that Alphard was someone he got along with unlike any other, and he suspected that this would likely remain the case for the foreseeable future. Tom was realistic enough to know that there was a great likelihood that things wouldn't last and that they'd have some sort of falling out, yet he was also aware of the fact that witches and wizards often found lifelong friends and lifelong romantic partners early on at Hogwarts. It wasn't too far-fetched to imagine Alphard remaining a constant presence in his life.

A few weeks went by without much changing, except Alphard became more physically affectionate with Tom, not so much that it'd make him uncomfortable and push him away but just an amount that Tom would be comfortable with. Tom wasn't really used to receiving physical affection, but he found the small amounts Alphard provided during the course of their friendship as well as the somewhat increased amount Alphard provided when they decided to date comfortable.

When the next Hogsmeade trip came up, the two teenagers went together, and they had a fun time looking through the different shops and enjoying the different treats available. Any time Alphard noticed Tom looking at something for more than a brief moment he ended up buying the item as he knew Tom wanted the item in question but didn't want to make Alphard feel obligated to buy it. Tom knew how Alphard was when it came to money: generous when it came to loved ones. Alphard was the type of person who had both the means and the desire to spoil his partner.

It wasn't long before the winter holiday break began, and when it did, Alphard stayed behind. He knew Tom had nowhere to go and would remain at the castle. Were Alphard's parents not so prejudiced, he would have invited Tom over to his house. Walburga spun a tale that Alphard was using the time to get extra studying and practicing of spells in of magic not normally taught during the school year to students in order to ensure he remained at the top of his classes and brought honor to the family name. Their parents believed it.

It wasn't a complete lie. Alphard often did study and practice magic not normally taught in the classroom with Tom. It's just that his motivation for staying at Hogwarts was so that he could spend more uninterrupted time with his boyfriend. Because the castle was relatively deserted, Alphard easily got away with moving into Tom's dorm in Ravenclaw Tower for the winter. He could have sworn that Professor Dumbledore had a knowing glint in his eye when he saw them come to breakfast at the same time each day, but the professor never made an issue of it. Instead, he made little offhand comments about the beauty and power of young love, much to Alphard and Tom's embarrassment.

On Tom's 15th birthday, they had their first kiss. As usual, Alphard was the one to initiate the physical affection. After their first kiss, Tom began to initiate physical affection, not as much as Alphard but still more than before. Cuddling in Ravenclaw Tower was a common occurrence over the rest of the winter break. Tom found it made him feel safe and at peace.

The peacefulness came to a halt with the start of the new term. When Valentine's Day came around, as Tom was the "chosen one," he received quite a few gifts from admirers, including chocolate, much of it dark chocolate, which he had a particular weakness for. Naturally, he shared the treats with his boyfriend. Neither expected there to be consequences for this.

Tom knew something was terribly wrong when Alphard started singing about how he was in love with some fifth-year female student. Tom had to trick him into following him to Professor Slughorn's office. They were fortunate that the professor had been in there grading papers that Friday evening.

Professor Slughorn quickly determined that Alphard was under the influence of a love potion and gave him an antidote. Not only were the symptoms of love potion consumption obvious, but there were always several cases of students finding themselves under the influence of love potions around this time of year every year.

The professor made note of the student Alphard proclaimed his love for: She'd be getting a lengthy, laborious series of detentions, just like the other students who decided to drug their romantic interests instead of bucking up the courage to just ask them out and maturely accept rejection if the person didn't reciprocate their feelings.

Tom was very much confused by the fact that the potion in the chocolate hadn't had an effect on him and voiced his thoughts to his professor. The professor brushed off his concerns, stating that it was unlikely that every piece of chocolate was drugged. Tom must have simply gotten lucky and avoided any that had the potion inside. Little did they know that Tom actually had, in fact, eaten pieces of chocolate with love potion inside.

Once Alphard was no longer under the influence of the love potion, he was mortified by the experience and pleaded with Tom to get rid of any remaining chocolate. Tom, wisely, tossed out any remaining chocolate he had, regardless of who had sent it. He would have done it without Alphard asking him to anyway.

Alphard had to stay in the Hospital Wing for observation for the next 24 hours, so he would be unable to go with Tom to Hogsmeade the next day. Tom didn't plan to go without him. He still wasn't in the best of moods the following morning, seeing as some random witch had drugged his boyfriend in an attempt to drug him the previous night.

When Walburga sauntered up to where Tom was seated at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall for breakfast, wearing the haughty expression that was usually plastered on her face, Tom knew she was going to annoy him. This was confirmed when she stated "Tom, you'll be taking me to Hogsmeade today."

Tom turned around in his seat and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I said-"

"-I know what you said," Tom interrupted, "but I fail to see why I would take you to Hogsmeade. In fact, why would you want me to take you? Surely one of the boys in your House would love to take you."

Walburga huffed. "They would have, but that was before Orion started attending Hogwarts. Everyone knows about our arranged marriage, and no one wants to look like they're attempting to sway me away."

Although Alphard had told Tom about Walburga's arranged marriage to her cousin early on in their friendship, Tom didn't remember being told this information, so he couldn't put the pieces together. "Orion?"

"My cousin. He just started attending this year."

"So he's a first year."

"Yes."

"And you're engaged to him? You're older than me."

"I know."

"Who decided to arrange a marriage between you two?"

Walburga scowled. "Our parents, but that's not the issue I'm here to discuss."

"Right. Well, if none of the boys in your House want to take you, why not one of the girls you're friends with?"

"They're busy." The fact that they all had dates went unsaid.

"In that case, why not go to Hogsmeade alone or just not go?"

"That is simply not done. Besides, that fanatic of Grindelwald's is out of Azkaban and quite likely to target Hogwarts. While I'm quite capable of defending myself, I'd prefer the extra assurance of my safety provided by bringing the prophesied vanquisher of Grindelwald with me." Walburga batted her eyelashes in a way that seemed to indicate she was attempting to both charm and mock him at the same time.

Tom hesitated before replying. Her reasoning was sound, and not only that, but how would Alphard react if he didn't comply with his sister's not-so-unreasonable request, especially if something bad happened to her that he could have prevented? He made up his mind, but there was still one problem. "I don't have any money," Tom admitted sheepishly.

Walburga had already known as much. "I do. That won't be a problem. I'll even buy you something as a thank you for escorting me today."

Tom sighed. "Fine. I'll go with you. However, I expect you to make it clear that I'm not trying to take you away from Orion if anyone thinks I am."

Walburga smirked. It was well-known that Tom and Alphard were friends, but they had kept the change in their relationship status secret. Even Walburga wasn't told, but she knew because it was obvious to her. "Of course. If it becomes necessary, I could always say that my brother Alphard is more your type than me anyway."

Tom narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"How did you know?"

"I've seen how you two act around each other."

"How long have you known?"

Walburga grinned. "How do you think a second-year student without Hogsmeade-visiting privileges was able to gift you flowers and chocolates and without said student's parents learning of it?"

Tom's eyes widened slightly. "You've known all along."

"Oh yes."

"And you approve?"

"I'm undecided on that, but I'd like Alphard to be happy."

"Speaking of Alphard, you should know that he's in the Hospital Wing right now."

Worry flashed across Walburga's face. "Why is he there? Is he okay?"

"He's fine now, but last night he ate some chocolate that someone had gifted me, and it turned out to contain a love potion. I took him to Professor Slughorn, who cured him and will be punishing the witch who drugged him."

"And how were you unaffected?"

"Professor Slughorn believes that not all of the chocolate contained love potion and that I simply managed to avoid the pieces that contained any."

"That makes sense. It'd be cheaper for only a few pieces to be drugged. You can actually buy such chocolates at certain stores, and you get charged by the piece."

"Right. Well, I had to toss out all the chocolate I got, even from other people. I couldn't risk either of us getting drugged again."

"A shame, truly," Walburga responded unsympathetically. She knew how much Tom liked chocolate, but her concern was for her brother's safety. Deciding she'd spent enough time talking with Tom in the Great Hall, she said, "I will meet you in the courtyard in one hour. Don't be late," and walked away. She paid her brother a brief visit in the Hospital Wing.

One hour later, Tom and Walburga met at the courtyard and made their way to Hogsmeade. Neither had a very enjoyable time in the town once there as they observed lovesick couples all over the place. They headed back to Hogwarts earlier than most students after Walburga bought Tom some drug-free chocolate. They hadn't noticed a witch following them around throughout their visit.


	9. For the Greater Good

**For the Greater Good**

 _Spring 1942_

It was because Walburga had insisted on taking a shortcut through an alleyway that she and Tom found themselves in the situation they were in. Donna Abbott had warded the area so that no one could leave the alleyway, trapping Walburga and Tom once they entered. Then Donna disarmed the two students, placing the wands inside a pocket in her cloak, and grabbed hold of Walburga. Tom's chocolate was ruined during the scuffle.

"You're the one who's supposed to vanquish my lord?" Donna sneered as she looked Tom up and down. "You may be pretty, but from what I hear, you're a mudblood."

"That is, indeed, the rumor." Tom replied, annoyed.

Donna looked down at the young witch she was holding. "You're a Black, aren't you? You're consorting with mudbloods now? Disgraceful."

"He's not a mudblood," Walburga muttered.

"What? You prefer that I call him a 'muggleborn'?" Donna mocked.

"I mean that there's no way he's a mudblood."

"Oh? Can he prove it?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Why would I bother to do that? It won't make you less inclined to kill me."

Donna smirked. "You're right about that."

From the moment Tom and Walburga found themselves trapped in the alleyway, Tom had been thinking about how to handle the situation, and he grit his teeth as he realized he'd have to kill the woman. She clearly thought that he was defenseless without his wand, and Walburga definitely was. Luckily for him and unluckily for the woman, he'd been learning and practicing dark magic in the Room of Requirement for quite some time at this point along with wandless and nonverbal magic, which he was naturally gifted at. In short, he didn't need a wand to kill this follower of Grindelwald's.

With false nonchalance, Tom spoke again but directed his questions to his schoolmate. "Walburga, aurors have been given permission to use Unforgivables in the event they encounter Donna Abbott, yes?"

"Yes."

"What about the general public?"

Walburga frowned. "Not that I'm aware."

Donna laughed. "You're what, 14? You don't even have a wand. Do you plan to cast an Unforgivable wandlessly? Have you ever even cast one before? You really think you'd manage to do that and catch me by surprise?"

Tom didn't answer but continued his prior train of thought. "Do you think that perhaps the reason why only aurors have been given permission is because of the risk of everyday witches and wizards accidentally killing innocents?"

"That would make sense," Walburga replied hesitantly.

"And what punishment do you think a regular witch or wizard would face if they did happen to cast an Unforgivable or other sort of dark magic on Ms. Abbott, particularly if it did result in her death?"

"I'm not sure."

"If I were to do such magic, would you back up my claim that I did it to save our lives?"

Walburga froze momentarily before slowly nodding.

Donna scowled. "Now you're just annoying me." She started to move her arm in the movement for a curse, only to find herself unable to complete the wand movement. "What?" She tried to move her arm again but found herself unable to. "How?" She stared at Tom with obvious shock written on her face.

"I think I've just answered your questions," Tom replied.

Wandlessly and nonverbally, Tom cast Imperio on Donna to make her let go of Walburga and take down the wards, and once she finished doing so, he walked right up to her and cast a dark curse that suffocated her while staring directly into her eyes. Her final thoughts prior to dying had been easy to read due to her panic, and he'd seen the exact moment she realized what a horrible decision she'd made in seeking him out.

The moment Donna had let Walburga go, Walburga had found herself staring at Tom with her mouth wide open. It was absolutely shocking what he was capable of, and so was the ease with which he cast the dark spells. She had known he was brilliant, but she hadn't had any idea just how incredibly powerful or dangerous he was.

The moment Donna's body hit the ground, Walburga felt the air grow extra chilly, and a new fear hit her, for dementors had arrived. Tom picked up their wands from inside Donna's cloak and tossed Walburga's over to her. She caught her wand and shouted the incantation for the Patronus charm, but nothing came out of her wand. She began to panic, and it made it all the more difficult to think of a happy memory. Even with a happy memory she didn't have much experience with casting the spell, and it was a spell even many adults struggled with. How was she going to keep the dementors at bay?

The answer was that she wasn't going to keep the dementors at bay. As Tom fought off several dementors that had come towards them, two dementors were sucking the happiness out of Walburga. Tom sent his patronus at those dementors, causing them to flee. Nevertheless, Walburga fell to the ground unconscious.

Moments later, a team of aurors arrived on the scene. They'd been tipped off that Donna Abbott had appeared in the area and headed for Hogsmeade as quickly as they could. They got there just as the dementors had fled.

When Tom saw the aurors, he began to explain what had happened. The aurors were thoroughly shocked and doubtful about the validity of his story, and they informed him that they'd be questioning the other student when she woke up. In the meantime, a couple of aurors escorted him back to the castle while levitating Walburga as a couple of other aurors handled the dead body of Donna Abbott. Tom's destroyed chocolate was left in the snow.

Walburga woke up a few hours later in the hospital wing. An auror who was seated near her bed began to ask her questions once he noticed she was awake. She made sure to put plenty of focus on how much her and Tom's lives were at risk and the sheer necessity of Tom's drastic actions against the dark witch. She did not feel it necessary to tell him about how Tom discussed it with her beforehand. Satisfied with the answers he'd received, the auror left shortly after.

Once the auror left, Alphard rushed over to his sister with concern evident in his eyes. She told him the whole truth about what happened in hushed whispers in order to be sure that she wasn't overheard.

"Where's Tom?" Walburga then asked. "I'm surprised he isn't here."

Alphard shook his head. "He was here briefly, but he was unharmed, so they didn't let him stay. I think," Alphard hesitated, "I think they wanted to keep him away from you. I think they wanted to be sure that he didn't influence what you told the aurors."

Walburga nodded. Luckily for Tom, he had more or less discussed his actions and reasoning with Walburga in advance. She likely would've told a similar account even if he hadn't, however. Their lives were in danger, and Donna Abbott had, in fact, planned to kill them. And Tom had saved her from the dementors too; she was certain of it. She'd seen him cast a patronus in the form of a doe of all things. "Do you know why he has a doe patronus?"

Alphard smiled softly. "Isn't it obvious? He has a fierce desire to protect his loved ones. Haven't you noticed how dementors don't affect him? He only really learned to cast the Patronus charm in order to protect me."

Walburga felt conflicted. Tom obviously cared deeply about Alphard and made him happy and wanted to protect him and those connected to him at any cost. She was afraid of what he was capable of now that she had seen him use his abilities, however. "Did you know that Tom was capable of doing what he did?"

"Which part?"

"All of it!" Walburga hissed. "The ability to cast spells nonverbally and wandlessly. The knowledge of the dark spells he cast. The ability to cast said spells period, let alone nonverbally and wandlessly."

"Oh. Yes, actually."

"How?"

"I've been with him when he's practiced."

Walburga felt sick. "You let him practice on you?"

"No. He doesn't practice the spells on me. He'd never do that." It wasn't a completely honest answer, but Alphard felt his sister didn't need to know that. How else would Tom have been able to practice the Imperius curse?

"So you just watch? How are you fine with that?"

"Well, he helps me learn after he masters a new spell."

"So you can do all of that too?"

"No. I can't get the nonverbal or wandless spellcasting down. I can only do the spells the normal way."

"And you aren't concerned he wants to know such dark magic?"

"No. I've encouraged it actually. I've brought over books from the family library before."

"Why?"

"Because I want him to live, and his life is in danger. I don't want him to harm anyone, but I do want him to be able to defend himself. Today was a perfect example of that. If he couldn't do what he did, you and he would likely be dead right now."

"I'm worried, Alphard. He killed her so easily. He used such dark magic with complete ease. What if he goes bad?"

"That won't happen," Alphard stated resolutely. "You don't get it, and I don't know how to make you understand. Can we just drop this? Tom isn't going to hurt me or go around hurting others. He just isn't."

Walburga nodded. She was still worried, but she knew arguing with her brother right then wouldn't change anything.

Meanwhile, Tom sat in the headmaster's office, waiting for the aurors to decide if they needed to arrest him and have him tried in court. He'd been placed in there right after the matron in the hospital wing declared him to be unharmed. He was not happy about this development. He'd killed Donna Abbott to protect Walburga and himself. It wasn't some sort of mindless act of violence committed on an innocent person. If he got thrown in Azkaban because of this, there would be hell to pay. He absolutely would seek vengence once freed.

The door of the headmaster's office opened, and an auror stepped inside. "I have good news for you. Your classmate's story matches yours, and after discussing things, the team's determined there's no need to arrest you. You acted to protect your friend and yourself. Your methods were simply unusual."

Tom relaxed greatly at these words.

The auror continued. "I do have some advice for you, kid. It's clear you are powerful and pick up new spells easily. Be careful with what you allow people to see or hear. It's bad enough that the news of that prophesy and your connection to it got leaked. If Grindelwald or his followers become aware of just how much of a threat you are to them, they'll be harder for you to fight. We'll do the best we can for the news to not be too detailed about what happened today, but unfortunately, it's inevitable that this will be front-page news."

Tom grimaced. "I understand, sir, and thank you for the advice."

"I'm not sure if you've considered it, but if you're interested, you seem like someone who could be a good auror someday. You definitely have talent and potential. I hope you keep that in mind while going through your schooling."

Tom nodded. He hadn't set his sights on any particular career yet. It wasn't the worst suggestion. It was a career that could definitely maintain his interest. The main issue was that his life would be on the line, and he wasn't so sure he wanted such a dangerous job. While Tom felt no remorse for killing Donna Abbott, the fact that he had killed someone made him feel queasy. As an auror, he'd also have to be comfortable with the idea of killing people at times and probably a lot with all that was going on with Grindelwald.

A few weeks passed, and things seemed to go back to normal. Neither Tom nor Alphard noticed Walburga darting nervous glances their way on a regular basis as they were caught up in their own little world.

Then Alphard received a letter from his parents that changed everything for them.

The letter stated that they knew of Alphard's romantic relationship with Tom and that he had to ceast interacting with Tom immediately. They believed him to be a muggleborn and also felt association with him was too risky because Grindelwald and his followers were targetting him.

Alphard sought out his sister and walked to a secluded area with her later that day in order to discuss the letter.

"Did you tell them?" Alphard accused.

"No," Walburga lied. "I didn't have to."

Alphard frowned. "Well, I'm not going to end my relationship with him. That's for sure. They can forget about that happening."

"Please be reasonable. You knew when you decided to associate with him that mother and father wouldn't approve. You must have realized they'd find out about you two to some extent eventually. It was only a matter of time."

"But you've said it yourself: There's no way he's a muggleborn."

"Just because I know it doesn't mean that either of us can prove it. Besides, even if he is a halfblood, there's no way they'd allow that either."

Alphard scowled. "Why does it matter? It's not like I'm ever going to marry a witch or have any children of my own. I should be able to marry a muggle for all it matters."

Walburga gasped. "Don't even joke about that."

"I'm not saying that I plan to, but why would it matter if I did? It wouldn't affect the family bloodline at all. Anything I have when I die will end up being inherited by your children even."

"It's the principle of it."

"And what if I don't stop seeing Tom, hmm? What will happen then?"

"You'll probably get disowned, get burned off the family tapestry, and end up homeless. What will you do?"

"I can figure something out."

Walburga shook her head. "Please. You're only 13. Don't throw your life away for a relationship that would likely end soon anyway."

"Easy for you to say. You already know you'll have someone."

"Would you prefer to be engaged to someone without any choice in the matter? No. You wouldn't. You'd end up married to a witch just for the purpose of continuing the bloodline while keeping it pure."

Alphard winced. When Walburga put it that way, his situation was much better. He at least had the freedom to pick who he dated and when or if he married, even if the options were limited. "How am I supposed to explain to him that I have to end things simply because of what might happen?"

"You're a Slytherin. Self-preservation comes first. He's bright. He'll understand."

When Alphard did finally gather enough courage to speak to Tom about the situation, Tom did understand. He was disappointed, but he understood, and he agreed with Walburga. Alphard needed his parents' support, and the two of them were not guaranteed to have a future, no matter how well they had been getting along.

Tom was most upset about losing Alphard's friendship, but again, he understood why Alphard couldn't be seen interacting with him. He was believed to be a muggleborn wizard, and proving otherwise would put a bigger target on his back. While Alphard suggested that they continue the friendship at least in secret, Tom knew that that was a bad idea. Realistically, they'd slip up and fall into the pattern they did as a couple.

Even though Alphard was the one who began the discussion about the dissolution of their relationship, it really came down to Tom to end the relationship. Neither of them was happy about having to cut ties with the other, but it was what had to be done.

Walburga felt somewhat guilty the weeks following Alphard's breakup with Tom as she saw how unhappy both of them were, but she felt justified in the decision she had made in informing her parents. Tom was a threat whether directly or indirectly. He had the potential to kill or be killed quite easily. He was powerful and a target. Anyone who associated with him would be at risk. She couldn't allow her younger brother to be put in harm's way. Although Tom never said he knew Walburga told her parents about him and her brother, she knew he knew somehow and understood why she did it.

As the school year came to an end, it was clear to Tom that this year had only been the start of what was to come. Dark witches and wizards would be coming after him in the future. He needed to look into ways of avoiding death at their hands. That meant looking into methods of obtaining immortality.


	10. Immortality

**Immortality**

 _Summer 1942_

On the last day of Tom's fourth year at Hogwarts, he received a package delivered by an owl he didn't recognize. Within the package was a pouch filled with money and a letter addressed to him.

 _Dear Tom,_

 _I know we can't keep in contact, but I do still care about you and wish to help. Use my gift to you wisely._

 _With fondness,_

 _Yours Truly_

Tom couldn't help but smile sadly at that. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Alphard would do this, but it did. Tom would miss the other boy for time to come.

Tom knew how to spend the money he'd received. He'd have to visit Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley during the summer at some point. Because he'd learned a fair bit of dark magic while studying with Alphard and it proved to be enough to take down Donna Abbott, his priority had to now be on finding a way to avoid death.

When the Daily Prophet had reported the incident of when Tom had killed the dark witch, it had skimmed over many details and avoided making him sound as powerful as he was, which was a good thing. He personally wasn't too worried about dark witches and wizards coming after him while he was in the muggle world. He was fairly certain they wouldn't know where to begin looking for him.

While in the muggle world, he was far more concerned about the war and the bombings on England. Many children had been evacuated from the major cities, but children from his orphanage weren't part of that group. He was just fortunate to not have been in London as the bombings occurred over the years. He wasn't affected much by the rationing either. His biggest issue with returning to the orphanage every summer was that his life was potentially in danger because of muggles, and there was little he could do about it. The orphanage itself was drab and dull and the children annoying, but those were simply minor concerns. He found most of his classmates annoying too after all. He'd been thinking for some time about a need to protect himself from dying, and the events of the past couple years only increased the strength of this belief.

As Tom walked over to the carriages that took students to Hogsmeade train station, where the students would then board the Hogwarts Express and head back to King's Cross, he noticed that the formerly horse-less carriages were now drawn by skeletal black horses with wings. They were a frightening sight to behold, and Tom looked around to see how the other students were reacting to the new development. To his surprise, the students behaved as they usually did, except Walburga, who had frozen with a look of horror on her face several feet away. It took Tom a moment to realize that the horses had always been there but that he just hadn't been able to see them before. They were thestrals, and he and Walburga were able to see them because they had witnessed Donna Abbott's death.

Tom took a moment to walk over to one of the thestrals and pet it to make certain that what he was seeing was truly there and to satisfy his curiosity about what the creature felt like. The creature was friendly enough and receptive to his touch despite its terrifying appearance. Some students gave Tom curious looks while an odd student here and there had a look of understanding on their face.

Tom got in a carriage a short while later, and when he later took the train from Hogwarts, he sat in the corner of a compartment that filled up with students he didn't know and didn't bother to get to know.

From time to time during the summer, Tom visited Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. He was no longer concerned about visiting the latter as he was confident enough in his abilities. He spent a lot of time in bookstores skimming over books that mentioned immortality at all. Books at shops in Diagon Alley were mostly useless. Some books at shops in Knockturn Alley were promising although disturbing. There were two options that seemed most plausible, based on his research, but Tom wasn't certain that either would be suitable.

Vampirism could potentially make him immortal, but it was uncertain. Much was unknown about vampires, including their true life expectancy. Tom didn't like the idea of being dependent on feeding off of humans nor being unable to tolerate sunlight or garlic either.

Horcruxes could potentially make him immortal, but very little was actually known about them. How did they work? What were the consequences of making them? Were there multiple ways to make them? All of these questions Tom needed answers to. At the moment, Tom only knew that making a horcrux required murder. Did killing Donna Abbott count, or did he have to kill again? He had no desire to kill anyone. If he did pursue this route and had to kill again, he'd need to make certain the person deserved it. Considering horcrux creation was dark magic, however, it wouldn't surprise him if it required killing an innocent person with no positive intentions in mind like easing suffering. In that case, making a horcrux or multiple horcruxes would be out of the question.

There was one route to immortality that wasn't considered dark magic that he knew of, but the usefulness of it was questionable. Hundreds of years ago, a French alchemist named Nicolas Flamel created the Philospher's Stone, an object capable of turning lead into gold and a necessary ingredient for the Elixir of Life, a potion that would extend one's life so long as one drank it consistently.

The biggest issue with this is how Tom could even obtain a Philosopher's Stone. No one other than Nicolas Flamel had ever managed to make it. Granted, few ever became alchemists, but one would think that someone else would have managed to replicate it. Nicolas Flamel was very tight-lipped about how the stone was created too. Was it possible that he'd resorted to dark magic to create it? Or did he simply not want to share the joys of wealth and immortality with anyone other than his wife?

Another issue is how the Elixir of Life would be made. The recipe, minus the stone being an ingredient, was unknown. Overall, the likelihood of succeeding while going this route was near zero. It'd be a complete waste of time. And the rumor was that Nicolas Flamel was physically very old and frail to the point of breaking bones on a regular basis. If that was the case, Tom would be unhappy with that form of immortality. Going the route of vampirism or horcruxes would be simpler.

Midway through the summer, Tom found out the location of a place vampires frequented. He had to sneak out of the orphanage at night to go there, but he found the place without much difficulty. Dark beings in general liked to meet at this place, along with witches and wizards who engaged in conduct that was questionable in legality. It didn't take long for him to find a vampire. In fact, the moment Tom stepped into the room, multiple vampires had turned their heads to look at him.

A male vampire with brown hair and blue eyes introduced himself to Tom. To him and the other vampires in the room, Tom smelled delicious. Tom decided that the vampire could drink a bit from him in exchange for information. The vampire agreed and answered some of Tom's questions. When the time came for Tom to allow the vampire to drink some of his blood, he hesitated for a moment as he knew it was risky. However, a deal was a deal, and from what he'd read, he knew that vampire fangs were coated with a sedative that would keep him calm and pain free.

As the fangs penetrated his neck, he began to feel a peace come over him and then a pleasure so powerful and new that he was taken by surprise. He found himself holding onto the vampire tightly, wanting the feeling to never end.

But then it did.

Another vampire, this one a woman with bright red hair and green eyes, tore the vampire that had been draining Tom for too long. The other vampire hadn't been able to stop. Tom's blood tasted better than other humans' did. It tasted like everything one could ever want.

Tom felt dazed and didn't realize what had just occurred. When he finally regained his senses, Tom's face pinkened with embarrassment. At that moment, he wished he could cast a cleansing charm on himself though he knew he couldn't due to laws against underage use of magic outside of school. The red-haired woman looked at Tom curiously, and the vampire who'd drunk from Tom left.

"I'd suggest that you be more careful with who you allow to drink from you in the future. If I hadn't come by when I did, you'd probably be dead in a few short moments," the vampire stated in a matter-of-fact way.

"Thank you," Tom responded somewhat begrudgingly.

"Now, what brings someone as young as yourself here?" the vampire continued.

"I'm researching immortality and looking to learn as much as possible about the different options available."

"I wouldn't recommend vampirism for someone like you. No doubt you'd be drained completely and the vampire attempting to turn you would fail to remember what their original objective had been."

Tom's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Why?"

"Your blood smells, and I assume tastes, unusually delicious. It's quite dangerous for you to be in this room even. I can't explain why your blood is so alluring, but it simply is."

"I see...What other forms of immortality are you familiar with?" If Tom had to rule out vampirism as an option, that was fine, but he did want useful information either way.

The vampire frowned. "Everything I'm familiar with involves dark magic."

"That's fine."

"Many of the methods involve murder. I don't think you want to become a murderer."

"Even vampirism runs the risk of murder, and besides, technically, I already am one."

The vampire gave Tom a shrewd look.

Tom pushed on. "What can you tell me about horcruxes?"

"You're willing to tear apart your soul?" the vampire questioned in a horrified whisper.

"I want to live more than anything, and my life is very much at risk. The chances of my death coming early in life rise exponentially every year. Now, I'm not committed to going that route for immortality, but I want to know more about it. Very little of it is written about in books."

"What exactly do you want to know? Do you expect me to tell you how to make one?"

"It involves murder, but does it have to be of a particular person or kind of person? For instance, does the sacrifice have to be someone innocent of wrongdoing, or can it be someone who has committed all sorts of harm to others?"

"It depends on what kind you wish to make."

"There are different types of horcruxes?"

"Yes. The most familiar version is the kind that involves murder of an innocent. However, there is a type that involves murder of someone who is not an innocent. The tricky part is that who is or is not innocent can be rather subjective. It isn't enough for you to have been wronged by them.

'With the version where there is murder of an innocent, half of your soul is put into an object that is of personal importance to you, and in the event of your main body perishing, your soul will remain tied to the earth with the potential for obtaining a new body. It would be a parasitic sort of half-life you'd experience. The part of your soul trapped within the object could either remain dormant until activated or be conscious and lose its sanity by being trapped inside the object indefinitely. If the horcrux is activated, it could reanimate itself, and essentially, more than one version of yourself could go about existing until one or the other dies. Because of how your soul is torn with this approach, you would remain in Limbo for eternity if you didn't come to feel remorse over the murder that was used to create the horcrux while still alive. The moment you feel true remorse is when you would reabsorb the piece of your soul held within the horcrux.

'With the version where there is murder of someone who is not an innocent, a piece of your soul would be placed into an item that is of personal importance to you, but it wouldn't necessarily be half of your soul. It'd be more like a signature of yourself than anything. In the event of your main body perishing, you would enter Limbo with the high potential of crossing over into the Realm of the Dead. In order to return to the Realm of the Living, two things would have to occur: You'd have to avoid crossing over to the Realm of the Dead, which would likely be difficult as Death would do its best to keep you, and someone in the Realm of the Living would have to activate your horcrux. You could reenter the Realm of the Living at any undetermined point in the future or not at all. It could be seconds after your death or even centuries, assuming the horcrux is activated. If the horcrux is never activated or you cross over into the Realm of the Dead, you'll never return to the Realm of the Living.

'One thing to keep in mind is that both versions not only require the death of someone when you first make it, but they also require the death of someone when activated. Who would die is something that you have little control over, and it could be problematic. Activation of the horcrux could occur without anyone but the victim being aware, or it could occur in front of many people. You could find yourself in quite an unpleasant situation."

Tom was impressed. "How do you know all of that?"

"I've been around," the vampire answered evasively. "So what do you think?"

"I think," Tom mused, "that the second version is preferable to the first even if there is no guarantee of returning to life. While the first version provides a guarantee of remaining alive in a way, the second version seems better in the event of not being able to return to life. I don't really believe in the existence of an afterlife, but if there is one, I'd rather be able to choose between coming back to life and going on to the afterlife than be stuck in Limbo for eternity.

'Now, as far as the sacrifice more or less is concerned, how soon after would the horcrux need to be made? Would it need to be made immediately after the death of the sacrifice, or could it be done a long time later?"

"You said you've killed before," the vampire noted. "Are you hoping to not have to kill again? Unfortunately, in order for a death to be a viable sacrifice for horcrux creation, you have to kill with the intention of the person being a sacrifice for the purposes of making the horcrux. Even then, you could put off making the horcrux for a couple days at the most."

Tom didn't like the idea of having to kill another person, but at least there was a method of horcrux creation that allowed him to kill someone who deserved it rather than someone innocent. "And how would making a horcrux impact my living self? Would it affect my magic or sanity or appearance in some way?"

"It depends on the method of horcrux creation. With the method that involves murder of an innocent, it affects your appearance but not much else as far as I'm aware. However, those who go with this method are never exactly sane to begin with, so it is hard to notice psychological changes. With the method that involves murder of someone who is not an innocent, it's difficult to say. Your appearance and magic should remain unchanged. Again, it's difficult to know how your mind would be affected. How your mind would be affected I think would be based purely on how you felt about what occurred rather than be a direct result of making the horcrux. Overall, I don't really know much about the everyday consequences of horcrux creation because it is so rare."

"You've provided far more information than the books I've encountered. Would you say that the methods of horcrux creation are the same, not including the sacrifice?"

"I believe so."

"Thank you for your help."

With the conversation over, Tom nodded at the vampire before leaving the building and heading back to his orphanage. Over the rest of the summer, he continued to research methods of obtaining immortality, but nothing was as promising as making a horcrux.

When Tom received his list of school supplies for the coming year and stipend for purchasing the supplies, he also received a letter informing him that he was to be the Ravenclaw fifth year boy prefect. The biggest perk was that his access to the restricted section of the library would expand; he wouldn't need Professor Dumbledore's permission to access any materials anymore.


	11. Uncovered Secrets

**Uncovered Secrets**

 _Autumn 1942_

The prefects' meeting was held in one of the larger compartments in the back of the train about midway through the journey from King's Cross to Hogsmeade. Abraxas Malfoy was the Slytherin sixth year boy prefect and had been a prefect the year before as well. For the most part, whoever was a prefect in their fifth year continued to be a prefect until graduation with few exceptions. That meant that all of the prefects would know one another, except for the newcomers. Abraxas was intrigued but ultimately unsurprised to see that Tom Riddle was the Ravenclaw fifth year boy prefect this year.

Tom Riddle had a reputation for being brilliant and powerful, and other than his interactions with the Black family, he tended to be distant with his peers. Abraxas hadn't bothered to get to know him because, as far as anyone knew, Riddle was a muggleborn wizard. Walburga and Alphard didn't seem to think he was, but they never mentioned anything that proved otherwise. Alphard in particular would get uncomfortable whenever someone pointed that out to him. Sometimes Alphard almost responded to that, but he would always restrain himself. It wasn't exactly subtle.

Abraxas was aware of the prophecy that involved Riddle and the Dark Lord as well as the fact that Riddle had killed Donna Abbott during the previous school year. When he'd asked Walburga for details about Riddle's fight with Abbott, she was unusually vague and seemed very uncomfortable. Riddle himself did his best to avoid questioning from anyone, so Abraxas hadn't bothered asking him.

Some time after that, Abraxas noticed that Riddle and Alphard weren't spending time together like they had before, and both appeared to be unhappy. He hadn't understood why until the summer when he'd seen Alphard moping around like some of his peers did after a breakup. It was then that it clicked in Abraxas's mind that the two hadn't simply been friends but lovers.

That very same summer Abraxas interned for William Hangleton's office. He got to attend some Wizengamot meetings and press conferences with Mr. Hangleton and read and summarized legislation for the politician. Abraxas felt fortunate to have had the opportunity as not many did. Mr. Hangleton wasn't impressed by just family names and connections; he required anyone who worked for him to have achieved greatness already or have the potential for achieving greatness.

Abraxas hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but occasionally, Mr. Hangleton asked for his thoughts about Tom Riddle. It didn't seem strange because it wasn't often, and by then, everyone knew about the prophecy involving Riddle and the Dark Lord as well as Abbott's defeat at Riddle's hands.

Now that Abraxas saw Riddle once more in person, he realized something that he was surprised he'd never realized before and that he was surprised no one else had ever seemed to notice either: Riddle looked so much like Mr. Hangleton it was uncanny. There were some differences as far as eye color, hair color, and skin tone went, but otherwise, they looked like they could be the same person, only at different ages.

There was no doubt in Abraxas's mind that Riddle had to be Mr. Hangleton's illegitimate son. Riddle looked more like Mr. Hangleton than Mr. Hangleton's legitimate son, William Hangleton Jr. (or Will as Abraxas thought of him), did.

Abraxas wondered if Riddle knew who his father was although he supposed he didn't. If he knew, surely he would have said as much. It would have improved his reputation among many in the wizarding world.

At the same time, Abraxas wondered why Mr. Hangleton wasn't open about Riddle being his son. Yes, there would be a bit of backlash for having had a child with another woman during the time he'd already been married, but ultimately, it would be beneficial to have it known that Riddle was his son. Riddle was intelligent, handsome, powerful, and prophesied to be a hero. Then again, perhaps Mr. Hangleton had no idea that Riddle was his son, especially if they had never met. It was possible that he had never learned about an affair of his resulting in the birth of a child.

Either way, Abraxas decided to keep quiet about the obvious relation between Riddle and Mr. Hangleton. The information could prove to be beneficial some day. For now, he'd simply observe and subtly confirm his suspicions.

As the prefects' meeting went on, Abraxas focused most of his attention on Riddle. The information they were being told wasn't new to him. Although it appeared Riddle attempted to hide it, it was apparent that he was excited. His eyes lit up at the mention of the perks involved with the position, particularly when it came to accessing the restricted section of the library. It wasn't surprising, really. The boy was in Ravenclaw after all.

When the meeting ended, the students left the compartment, Abraxas included. He was invited to the first meeting of the year for Professor Slughorn's "Slug Club" and had to attend that. It was unsurprising to find that Riddle had been invited as well. Anyone noteworthy who was at least in their fifth year was invited to be a part of the Slug Club.

Several invitees weren't impressive themselves but had well-known names and were likely to be successful in their future careers. Professor Slughorn made it quite clear why each person was there with the introductions. He spent a lot of time praising Riddle, much to Riddle's clear discomfort. Abraxas supposed it was because attention was brought to the fact that Riddle had a target on his back with the Dark Lord's name written all over it and had killed someone.

Eventually, once Professor Slughorn got his fill of gushing over the new treasures he was adding to his collection, the meeting ended. Abraxas and Riddle, like other prefects, had to begin making rounds on the train and assist the younger students once the train reached Hogsmeade.

Abraxas noticed that Riddle stared for a strangely long period of time at the carriages before he got inside one.

The welcoming feast went on normally until near the end when a house elf popped up near Headmaster Dippet and frantically began to tell him about a student's pet snake having gotten loose and then gone missing. Abraxas was not happy to learn that night that it had been his pet snake that had disappeared.

The next morning, at breakfast, Abraxas was shocked to see that his snake was draped on Riddle and that Riddle looked completely at ease. Riddle acted as though there was nothing unusual happening, and a corner of his mouth twitched as the snake hissed at him.

At some point, Riddle noticed Abraxas's arrival and proceeded to hand over the snake wordlessly. There was a look of longing in Riddle's eyes for moment before it disappeared, and Riddle walked away. Abraxas wasn't sure of what to make of it.

Over the course of the first several weeks of the school year, Abraxas's main encounters with Riddle alternated between prefect meetings and Riddle returning his snake to him. For some reason, the snake kept escaping and kept seeking out Riddle. The Ravenclaw prefect didn't seem to mind the snake's attention. In fact, Abraxas would swear that he liked the snake just as much as the snake seemed to like him.

It was purely by chance that Abraxas caught Riddle communicating with the snake one day, and it was truly communicating, that much being evident by the back-and-forth nature of the hissing between the snake and him. It suddenly made sense why his snake was so drawn to Riddle: Riddle was a Parselmouth.

Abraxas couldn't help himself from blurting out the revelation, which caused Riddle to freeze before he began insisting that he was not to tell anyone about this. Abraxas thought it was incredible and didn't understand why Riddle would want to keep it a secret. Was it because he was in Ravenclaw?

Riddle wouldn't give an answer as to why he wanted the information to be kept secret, but Abraxas agreed to keep it secret nonetheless.

* * *

Tom had expected the new school year to be rather lonely without Alphard's company, but it turned out that that didn't end up being the case. He was kept busy with preparation for his OWLS, his prefect duties, and his unlimited access to the restricted section of the library, along with his normal coursework.

Abraxas's pet snake, Sasha, frequently visited him and entertained him. She told Tom on more than one occasion that she preferred him over Abraxas, saying he was much better at listening to her and conversing with her in general. Tom pointed out that that was because he was a Parselmouth while Abraxas was not, but she considered it to be a weak excuse. Sasha spoke of pretty much everyone, including Abraxas, as being a peasant. It was, in fact, her favorite insult. Tom was the only person she didn't consider to be a peasant. To Sasha, Tom was a lord while she was a queen.

Tom hadn't liked when Abraxas learned of his ability to speak Parseltongue, but that was the consequence of not being vigilant enough of his surroundings. He'd been engrossed in a conversation, really more of an argument, with Sasha. The snake felt that Tom needed to stop taking her back to Abraxas and just keep her with him, and Tom had told her he couldn't because she didn't belong to him. She then accused Tom of only taking her back to Abraxas in an attempt to gain the Slytherin prefect's affection, which Tom wholeheartedly denied. Then Sasha insisted that Tom should be seeking out Abraxas's affection in order to get Abraxas to give her to Tom permanently. It was all very vexing.

It wasn't long after that that Sasha got it in her mind that Tom and Abraxas needed to be brought together and that it was her duty to make it happen. She continued escaping from Abraxas and going to Tom, but she also started doing other things. Sometimes she'd escape from Abraxas and not go to Tom, hoping Abraxas would assume she'd gone to Tom and seek him out to talk to him. That was effective. She also occasionally used her body to trip one or both of the boys. It hurt, but she felt it was a worthwhile sacrifice when she'd see one or both boys with flushed faces when one either fell to the ground and was helped up by the other or one fell but got caught by the other.

Sasha was certain that Tom and Abraxas were attracted to each other, and she got frustrated after a few weeks when they still were not mates. From conversations she had with Tom, she knew he still had feelings for a boy named Alphard even though the two of them couldn't be together. Tom also didn't seem to think that Abraxas and him were even friends. As for Abraxas, while Sasha couldn't talk to him, she could observe him, and she did notice him staring at Tom a lot, so it supported her hypothesis as far as she was concerned.

By the time winter break came around, Tom and Abraxas had managed to form a friendship but were still a ways away from a romance, much to Sasha's displeasure. To make matters worse, Sasha didn't get to stay at the Hogwarts with Tom but instead had to go back to Malfoy Manor with Abraxas.

* * *

 _Winter 1942 - Spring 1943_

He was hungry, so very, very hungry. This is all Aragog could think about as he scuttled across the floors within the castle. He'd escaped from Rubeus Hagrid about an hour prior, and his objectives were to find something to eat and to get out of the castle and go into the Forbidden Forest. At first, it hadn't been so bad to be with the half-giant boy, back when he was smaller and food was easier for the boy to obtain for him, but now Aragog was starting to get bigger, and the boy couldn't take care of him properly. He spent so many days just thinking about food. Rubeus kept him trapped and wouldn't let him hunt for his own food either as the boy was concerned about getting caught with a creature he wasn't allowed to have.

The first form of life that Aragog encountered was a girl with dark hair, pale skin, and glasses. Before Aragog was even aware of what he was doing, he leapt at her and bit her. The girl screamed, but all Aragog could think about was that he finally was going to have a proper meal. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't even a minute later that he was hit with a spell from behind that forced him off the girl and onto the ground some distance away.

It didn't take long for Aragog's vision to go dark and for him to lose consciousness.

Once the acromantula was incapacitated by the blasting curse Tom had sent at it, Tom went over to Myrtle Warren, the girl who'd just been attacked. He had no idea how such a dangerous beast got inside the school, but he would find out. However, that would be after he took his fellow Ravenclaw to the hospital wing and got her medical treatment. The bite of an acromantula could kill her if not treated quickly enough. He used a levitating charm, knowing he could get Myrtle to the hospital wing more quickly by levitating her while running as opposed to carrying her while running. He had excellent control of his magic, but his physical strength was simply average for a teenage boy. It was fortunate for Myrtle that he'd been nearby when she'd been attacked.

Just a short while prior, Tom had been in the Room of Requirement. He still often visited the room though it was usually only to practice dark magic. This time he had visited for the peculiarity that he always witnessed on December 31st: The boy in the Mirror of Erised with messy black hair, a jagged scar on his forehead, and green eyes behind a pair of circular glasses. Unlike the first time Tom had seen him in the mirror, he didn't look confused; he didn't appear to be aware of being in the mirror at all. This was the case every year after the first one. Tom would see the boy get progressively older while the boy didn't seem to notice him at all. It always left Tom in a pensive mood, and he'd walk around the castle while thinking afterwards.

It was while Tom was walking around the castle this day that he had heard Myrtle's scream and had come running. He had been horrified to see an acromantula feasting upon her and sent a blasting curse at it without a moment's hesitation.

As Tom ran to the hospital wing while levitating Myrtle in front of him, Myrtle cried. She'd been crying ever since the acromantula attacked her. She didn't have it in her to protest being levitated to the hospital wing. She was in too much pain. She hadn't just been bitten. The beast had been eating her alive! There were chunks of flesh torn off her body, and her clothes were torn. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten to her face. She already got made fun of for her glasses and acne and weight. She didn't need people, especially Olive Hornby, to mock her for missing chunks of flesh from her face or facial scarring too. She could at least hide any other problems under her clothes.

When Tom and Myrtle reached the hospital wing, the matron came out and immediately took action upon seeing the state Myrtle was in. As the matron began cleaning Myrtle's wounds to prevent any infection from developing, Tom explained what happened. He was instructed to go to the deputy headmaster and inform him of the situation while Myrtle received treatment. It was unnecessary, however, as Professor Dumbledore entered the hospital wing just as Tom was about to leave.

Once everything was explained, Professor Dumbledore sent a note off with his phoenix, Fawkes, to St. Mungo's hospital. Then he and Tom left the hospital wing.

"Professor," Tom spoke hesitantly, "we both want to know who's responsible for letting an acromantula into the school, and I think I have a way for us to gain that information quickly if you aren't opposed to it."

"I hope you aren't suggesting bringing it back from the dead, my boy," Professor Dumbledore said sternly.

"No. It would involve briefly summoning its spirit back."

"Briefly?" the professor questioned doubtfully.

"Yes."

"And you're certain you can do this safely and without harm to anyone, including the spirit?"

"Yes."

The professor's eyes turned shrewd. "You have practiced this, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

Tom averted his eyes. "Enough."

"I'll allow it," Professor Dumbledore conceded, "but I will be present when you summon the spirit."

Tom nodded. He had expected as much.

The pair walked back to where the acromantula's corpse lay. Tom sat down near the dead beast and shut his eyes while focusing on the magic needed to summon the spirit while the professor stood a few feet back. Tom was certain he could safely summon the spirit of the creature and do so briefly because it hadn't been long since its death. He'd had enough practice to know when too much time had passed.

"Tom."

Tom opened his eyes. He didn't need to hear anything else from the professor to know that he'd been successful in summoning the spirit. Sure enough, it appeared before him.

"Hello," Tom began since he saw the acromantula looking around wildly.

The acromantula turned its eyes to him. "Who are you?"

"Tom Riddle. And you are...?"

"Aragog."

"Hello, Aragog. I have a couple questions for you that I hope you don't mind answering."

"How am I here?" Aragog asked. "Am I dead? Was I dead?"

Tom grimaced. Every spirit that he summoned asked these questions. "I have summoned you briefly. You are dead and will be allowed to leave soon."

"I was killed by a curse. You killed me!"

"Unfortunately, yes. It was necessary. I couldn't allow you to eat a girl alive."

"I was hungry."

"That's still no excuse."

"I hadn't eaten in days."

"Why?"

"The boy hadn't been able to find food to feed me."

"Which boy?"

"Rubeus. He means well, but he has no idea what he's doing."

"Why were you running around the castle?"

"I escaped. I planned to go to the Forbidden Forest. There would have been food there. Why am I telling you so much?"

"Spirits are obligated to be fully truthful to natural necromancers. I don't know why that is the case. Do you have anything to ask or tell me before I allow you to leave?"

"No."

"In that case, this is goodbye." Tom banished the spirit. It would go to wherever it had been before Tom had summoned it.

Tom turned around and faced the professor, who looked grim. "Professor?"

"That information was most troubling. Thank you for your assistance this evening, Tom. It's given me much to think about. Now, I must leave. I suggest you go get some rest. Ms. Warren will be treated and should be just fine."

The two parted ways.

During the remainder of the winter break, Tom visited Myrtle in the hospital wing to check up on her progress. Acromantula venom didn't cause issues right away and usually took about a day to set in although symptoms could begin to appear for up to two weeks following an acromantula bite, so she had to remain in the hospital wing. Tom found that she was pleasant enough when she wasn't stalking him.

It was when Myrtle first came to Hogwarts that she had been constantly following Tom around, peering at him from behind bookcases, trying to sit near him at dinner, asking him for help with her homework when she understood the subject matter just fine, and more. Myrtle had eventually stopped doing all of that after Tom had begun spending a lot of time with Alphard. It had been about two years by this point since she'd last stalked him.

By the time the new term began, Rubeus Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts and his wand snapped.

The authorities had wanted the half-giant sent to Azkaban, but Professor Dumbledore had made the case that that would be too harsh seeing as how Myrtle had lived without serious permanent injuries and Hagrid hadn't been involved in the attack. He was a child who somehow obtained a dangerous creature that he had no way to care for. Rumor was that Hagrid had gotten the acromantula from Newt Scamander, the famous magizoologist, but no one had any proof of that.

Myrtle's parents had wanted to sue Hagrid or his family, but there was no money they could get from him. The only recourse they had was that he would be expelled and his wand snapped.


	12. Unspeakable

**Unspeakable**

 _Spring 1943 - Winter 1943_

Over the course of the spring term, Tom's relationships with Myrtle and Abraxas grew. Both refused to spend time with Tom when the other was around, but they didn't give Tom any ultimatums; they both knew it'd be pointless. Myrtle's relationship with Tom became somewhat like a sibling bond, especially as Tom protected her from bullies and even would assign detentions and detract House points from the offenders. Meanwhile, Abraxas's relationship with Tom turned more romantic, just as Sasha wanted. Sasha incessantly pestered Tom until she was able to get him to make the first move. Abraxas told Tom that he was fine with being on friendlier terms, but he didn't want to fully commit at this time. Tom decided to accept it for the time being. While he felt drawn to Abraxas, he still held feelings for Alphard.

Near the end of the school year, just a few weeks before Tom had to take his OWLs, he was called to Professor Slughorn's office for a discussion about the classes he'd take at the NEWT level and what careers he was interested in.

"I want to be an unspeakable," Tom answered seriously. He'd considered the different career options available to him, and that one seemed the most interesting and challenging while still aligning with his skills and interests.

"Not an auror?" Professor Slughorn frowned. "The skills you'd gain as an auror would help you in the fight against you know who." While there was no taboo curse on Grindelwald's name, the professor seemed to find the name taboo nonetheless.

Tom didn't feel the same way. "I don't want my life to be controlled by some prophesy. I don't want to be everyone's savior. Maybe Professor Dumbledore will finish off Grindelwald. I know the Ministry of Magic has sought him out multiple times about the matter."

Professor Slughorn sighed. "Alright then. What would your area of focus be as an unspeakable? Prophesies?"

"Death, actually."

The professor stilled. "Why death?"

"Because so little is known about it, and it's universal."

"Ah." The professor decided to change topics. "So which classes will you be taking at the NEWT level?"

"All of the ones I'm taking now, unless I feel overburdened. I realize that to become an unspeakable I will need to have several Outstandings for my OWLs and NEWTs. They only take the best of the best."

"Are you sure that that's necessary?"

"Yes. Oh, also, I intend to take the Muggle Studies OWL exam. I don't need the class, but it'll be a simple OWL exam for me to get an Outstanding in."

"Because you're muggleborn?"

"Muggle-raised half-blood, actually."

"How do you know?"

"I know of the identities of my parents. I actually have since third year. I just haven't felt the need to tell everyone, considering one is dead and the other wants nothing to do with me."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Tom. Are you sure the one who's alive doesn't want anything to do with you?"

"Definitely. It's fine though, really."

The conversation came to an end a short while later, and Tom took his leave from the office.

The rest of the term was focused on preparing for the OWLs.

When Tom took his OWLs, he knew without a doubt that his performance was strong enough to earn him Outstandings in every subject. This was later confirmed when he received his results in the summer. He even earned extra points due to his ability to cast a corporeal patronus.

The summer was uneventful for Tom. He exchanged letters with Abraxas, but unlike the letters Alphard wrote, Abraxas's letters didn't allow Tom much to say in response. Abraxas didn't discuss politics or magical theory with Tom. Instead, Abraxas wrote about his summer job, his continued internship for a politician in the Wizengamot. Abraxas didn't name the politician, not even when asked. Tom found it interesting that Abraxas was doing political work, but whenever Tom tried to turn a mention about an upcoming piece of legislation or meeting with a political interest group into a larger conversation, Abraxas changed the subject.

Tom understood that his relationship with Abraxas wouldn't be like that with Alphard because they were two different people, but the distance Abraxas kept him at made him feel unhappy and unwanted. However, at the same time, he didn't really have anyone else. There was Myrtle, but she didn't own an owl, so they couldn't send each other letters over the summer.

He visited the place he'd been at when he'd first allowed a vampire to drink from him. He decided to only allow the female vampires to drink from him going forward, and he found that he got all of the benefits without any of the consequences that way. Occasionally they tried to drink for too long, but it was much easier for Tom to throw off a small female vampire than a big male vampire.

Tom, in his boredom, also found himself using legilimency on random people to pass the time. Their thoughts were usually rather dull, and there was no real challenge, especially when he dealt with muggles: They didn't even notice the intrusion. Regular witches and wizards barely noticed the intrusion themselves.

He would have gotten a summer job if it would have been feasible to do so, but disappearing so much wouldn't go unnoticed. If he admitted to having a job, then he'd have to come up with a convincing lie. Frankly, he didn't understand how things worked for teenagers and adults in the muggle world, so that would have been difficult. Most likely he would be expected to have some sort of job that involved manual labor, possibly something to contribute to the war.

When the new school year began, Tom was prepared to make full use of every bit of time available to him. As he had told Professor Slughorn during the previous term, he continued with the classes he'd already been taking.

Among the classes Tom decided to continue taking was Potions. In Professor Slughorn's first class for the sixth-year students, he introduced the students to Amortentia and Felix Felicis. Because Tom was his star pupil, the professor called him up to describe the nature of the potions. Tom was able to explain their properties and effects without issue, but he was surprised to find that he didn't smell anything from the Amortentia. Other students were allowed to smell the potion for their own insight after Tom's explanation, and it became clear to Tom rather quickly that he was the only one who didn't smell anything.

It was after the last student, not including Tom, had left the classroom that afternoon that Tom brought the matter up to his professor. "Professor, I noticed something odd with the Amortentia."

The professor shifted awkwardly, bracing himself to hear something unpleasant, but motioned for Tom to continue.

"I didn't smell anything. What does that mean? I haven't heard anything about that in the reading I've done."

The professor visibly relaxed now that it was clear he wasn't going to hear some sort of declaration of love from Riddle. He hadn't expected to, but it wasn't unheard of for the random student here and there to confess feelings to him after the lesson that included Amortentia. When he considered what Riddle had said though, it brought up another issue. "You didn't smell anything?"

"Correct."

Professor Slughorn frowned. "Generally speaking, not smelling anything from the Amortentia indicates immunity from it. That in itself isn't terrible because it is a mind-altering substance that takes away a person's free will. Unfortunately, there is an issue with how that immunity is obtained. The most common theory is that it means one or both of the immune individual's parents had been under the influence of Amortentia when the immune individual was conceived or in utero although it's not confirmed."

"Born to one unwillingly..." Tom muttered. "Do you know whether the parent under the influence being the mother or the father has an impact or what side effects there are for the child beyond immunity from the potion?"

The professor shook his head. "No. There are rumors that those who are immune are unable to love, but considering the relationship you had with Mr. Black, I would say it's safe to say that those rumors are unfounded. Now, I'm aware that you and Mr. Malfoy have become friends. Perhaps with his connections he'd be able to find someone who could provide you with more answers."

"Thank you, professor. I'll keep that in mind."

The rest of the term passed by without incident for Tom. He did as he had done during the previous term: He did his schoolwork for all his classes, he read books from the restricted section of the library, he practiced magic in the Room of Requirement, he kept up with his prefect duties, and he continued his friendship with Myrtle and his semi-romantic relationship with Abraxas.

Abraxas was more of a friend who provided some physical comfort and pleasure than a proper lover, and while Tom wished things were different, he didn't know how to go about making things change. He just prevented Abraxas from taking things too far because he wanted commitment first, even if it didn't seem likely to come about.

That winter Abraxas invited Tom over to Malfoy Manor because he did find someone who could provide Tom with more answers regarding Amortentia. One day Tom and Abraxas went to the Ministry of Magic, specifically to the Department of Mysteries. There was an unspeakable there who was able to give some answers. The information the unspeakable was able to provide was information that wasn't kept secret, just difficult for regular witches and wizards to find.

The unspeakable, Thomas Smith, was shocked when he saw the two teenagers enter his office. The one that wasn't a Malfoy greatly resembled William Hangleton, yet he had seen Hangleton's son before, a boy who didn't look like the man much at all.

Malfoy introduced himself and his friend Tom Riddle, and Thomas introduced himself in turn.

Thomas knew the name Tom Riddle. All of the unspeakables had been excited when they had first heard that there'd been a student who'd had two prophesies, one of which that stated the boy was prophesied to vanquish the Dark Lord. One thing they understood that the public didn't was that the Dark Lord referenced in the prophesy wasn't necessarily Grindelwald. It was easy to assume it meant him, but it didn't mention his name. Another clue that hinted towards this was the fact that only Tom Riddle's name appeared under the prophesy. In fact, only his name appeared under both prophesies that applied to him. This suggested that the other person involved with each prophesy hadn't been born or created yet. So while the public believed the boy to be foretold to defeat Grindelwald, the unspeakables knew that wasn't necessarily the case.

Now Thomas had a face he could apply to the name, and it was unsettling. Thomas had gone to Hogwarts while Hangleton was a student there, and he knew how the man was. He'd never heard about the man having any illegitimate children, however. Whether that was because he was careful or found ways to hide his misdeeds Thomas didn't know, but it was clear that when it came to Tom Riddle, Hangleton had messed up. It was only a matter of time before people figured it out. It was surprising that no one had noticed already.

Thomas indicated that the teenagers could sit down in the seats on the other side of his desk.

He'd been informed that they wanted some information regarding love potions, and while that most likely meant he'd say very little and send them away, love and anything associated with it was the subject matter he focused on researching.

"So what brings you here today, specifically?" Thomas asked.

Riddle spoke then with a determined expression on his face. "Because of a potions lesson involving Amortentia, I learned that I'm immune to the potion. My professor said it meant one or both of my parents likely was under the influence of it when I was conceived or in utero. I wanted to know about any other consequences there may be besides immunity to the potion and know if the consequences vary depending on which parent was under the influence of the potion and when."

Thomas was now more than unsettled; he felt dread. No doubt Hangleton had used Amortentia on some witch, and Riddle was the byproduct. "How do you know you're immune?"

"I don't smell anything when around Amortentia, and my professor said that indicates immunity."

Thomas nodded. "Your professor is correct on that front. Now, as for other consequences or benefits, you should also be immune to lower-level love potions as well. So, for example, if someone tries to douse some Valentine's Day chocolate with some sort of love potion to make you feel infatuated with them, it shouldn't work. As for potions that involve obsession or lust but aren't exactly love potions, your immunity will vary. It depends on the ingredients involved in the potion. If the ingredients come from a being that inherently causes those types of reactions, you won't be immune, but if the ingredients only cause those types of reactions when combined together, then you should be immune. As for spells, you may or may not be immune; most likely, you will have an easier time throwing off mind-altering or mind-controlling spells compared to the average person rather than be completely immune."

"And what about the rumors that it makes someone incapable of feeling love?

"Pure rumor. The key thing to remember about Amortentia is that it imitates love but is a false love. It is a temporary mind-altering substance more than anything."

"Do the consequences vary depending on which parent was under the influence of the potion and when?"

"They can. I'm sure you've noticed how common it is for people to attempt to use some sort of love potion on another and how openly low-level love potions are sold. And yet it's extremely rare for someone to be immune to love potions. Love potions are, in certain ways, poisonous. The research indicates that love potions, when used for very brief periods of time, tend to cause issues with fertility. When love potion use is more extensive though, the body can adapt. If a pregnancy does occur, the child is the one who adapts, not the mother. The mother's health will deteriorate, and she'll likely die shortly after the child is born if she lives that long. Men under extensive use of love potions either tend to grow immune to them or have their health deteriorate until they die. In both cases, if use of the potion ceases before the person's health has deteriorated too much, the person will eventually recover."

Thomas could tell that Riddle was putting the pieces together in his mind, so he remained quiet until the boy was ready to speak.

When Riddle spoke again, he shook with rage. "My mother died the night I was born. No one knew what had happened to my father. No one knew whether he had left her or died. I found out what my parents looked like because of a strange mirror I encountered when I began attending Hogwarts. I saw my father in person for the first time when I was 13. I heard the prophecy that everyone says means I'm meant to defeat Grindelwald and picked up on a key phrase, "born to one unwillingly." I got the impression my father recognized who I was and didn't say anything because he didn't want me. Since then, I've certainly had no contact with him. So I assumed my mother simply died from childbirth the way that women do at times and that my father was my father unwillingly. Now it sounds to me like my mother was under the influence of Amortentia for an extended period of time. Effectively, what I'm hearing is that my mother was raped and murdered by my father. Am I wrong?"

"Considering the actual facts involved and who I think your father is, I don't think you're wrong. I'm sorry."

"Who do you think is my father?"

"You greatly resemble William Hangleton. I'd be more surprised if you weren't his son."

"I've thought the same thing," Malfoy added.

Riddle looked between the two. "Why hasn't anyone else noticed before?"

"People often overlook the obvious," Thomas answered. "Now, I have a question for you: Do you know who your mother is?"

"Merope Gaunt, based on some information I got from a ghost."

"I knew her back at Hogwarts. We actually dated for a brief period. My family had me end the relationship out of concern that she was a dark witch and would have a negative influence on me. My family is consistently sorted into Hufflepuff, you see, and she was a Slytherin who could speak Parseltongue. I thought she was perfectly nice. She was very understanding when I ended things between us. It is rather Slytherin to end a relationship for self-preservation after all. I'm not exactly sure how she got mixed up with Hangleton. She didn't like him and sensed his nature, so she made it a point to stay far away from him. I do know that Hangleton and Merope's brother, Morfin, had some issues with each other. Hangleton even got him put away in Azkaban for a while. I can't speak to his motives, but the only way Merope would have gotten involved with him is if he affected her mind without her knowing. Perhaps he mixed some Amortentia with a drink she had when she wasn't looking. Or maybe he used the Imperius Curse on her. I'm not sure."

Riddle sighed. "There's no way to prove anything though, is there?"

"It's been too long, and while the circumstantial evidence is very convincing, it's not enough proof for a conviction. You're better off staying away from Hangleton altogether."

Riddle nodded.

A short while later, Abraxas and Tom left the man's office and the Ministry of Magic in general. Abraxas decided that he would not continue working for Mr. Hangleton the coming summer even though it was an option still available to him. He felt sympathy for Tom because of what they'd learned, and he decided to visit Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley with Tom. He'd buy something that Tom wanted.

The two teenagers entered Borgin and Burkes at one point and examined the items in the shop. They didn't plan to get anything from this particular shop but wanted to see the unusual items within. A locket with an emerald S on it caught Tom's eye. The shopkeeper noticed and commented on it. "Ah, I see you've noticed Slytherin's locket."

"Slytherin's locket?"

"A family heirloom passed down generation after generation from Salazar Slytherin to his descendants. A witch sold it to me some years ago. Not sure it actually belonged to her, but I wasn't about to pass on something as special as this."

Tom probed the shopkeeper's mind gently with a low level of legilimency to see the memory. A woman who appeared to be near death sold the locket in desperation and received very little money for it, nowhere near the level of value it should have earned. Upon closer inspection of the woman, Tom could identify that it was Merope. She looked much worse than when he'd seen her in the Mirror of Erised, but it was definitely her.

After Tom left the shopkeeper's mind, he imperiused him and had the shopkeeper hand over the locket. It was Tom's birthright, and his mother had been swindled, so he no qualms with doing this. Then he wiped the last few minutes of memory from the shopkeeper's mind and left the shop with Abraxas. They didn't speak about what happened.


	13. What is Right

**What is Right**

 _Spring 1944_

Albus woke in the middle of the night to a cry from Fawkes. During all of his years as a professor at Hogwarts, the phoenix only woke him in the middle of the night when students were gravely injured within the castle. Fawkes's tears would often allow the injured student to heal enough to be able to receive proper medical treatment later. Albus quickly changed his clothing and rushed out of his room, following Fawkes's lead to the injured student.

To his shock and horror, he found Tom Riddle unconscious, mostly naked, and bleeding from various wounds on the floor of a rarely used classroom. Fawkes cried out tears onto the worst of the injuries while Albus cast several healing spells. Once the worst was healed enough that Tom wouldn't die, Albus wrapped Tom with the teenager's robes that were on the floor a couple feet away. He levitated Tom and took him to the Hospital Wing.

The matron began to check over Tom while Albus stayed back. What she discovered disturbed them both.

* * *

Tom groggily opened his eyes and winced in pain. He took in his surroundings and saw that he was in the Hospital Wing. He pushed himself into a sitting position to get a look at himself. His entire torso was wrapped with bandages and hurt, his head hurt, and even sitting hurt.

What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was patrolling a corridor like he'd been scheduled to. He didn't recall anything unusual, but he also couldn't remember whatever led to him being injured either. Was it because he got some sort of head injury that he couldn't recall what had happened, or had someone obliviated him? Either way, he wanted to know what had occurred leading up to it.

The matron came out of her office and grabbed some supplies before walking over to the hospital bed Tom was in. He assumed she had some sort of charm on the room that notified her when unconscious students woke up.

"Mr. Riddle, how are you feeling?"

Tom grimaced. "Well, more or less everything hurts. What happened?"

The matron looked even more concerned now than when she first walked over. "You don't remember?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking."

The matron frowned.

"Sorry, but it's true."

"I understand. What is the last thing you remember?"

"I was making my rounds like I'd been scheduled to. I don't recall anything unusual happening. It's like a block of time is simply missing."

"I'm afraid it's likely you've been obliviated."

"I figured as much. It was either that or severe head trauma. I assume I was obliviated in connection to whatever injuries I have, but why am I injured anyway? What happened?"

"Oh dear. I'm not sure how to tell you. What happened to you was unusually severe. I've seen many things during my years here but nothing quite like what happened to you... I do have to change your bandages. Would you prefer I tell you before I begin, or would you prefer that I explain in the process?"

Tom thought for a moment. "I think it'd be best for you to tell me why I'm bandaged before you remove the bandages."

The matron took a deep breath. "You were attacked as you've likely realized. As part of the attack, whoever attacked you used a dagger or some other sort of bladed weapon cursed with dark magic on you. They used it to...stab you...several times...and they...well, they carved some words on you as well."

"Oh." Tom definitely had not been expecting that. The matron hadn't been overstating things when she had said that what had happened was unusually severe. "How am I even alive?" It was a miracle he wasn't dead. He should have died.

"The deputy headmaster's phoenix provided tears that were able to treat your wounds. Normally, wounds treated with phoenix tears result in perfect healing, but I'm afraid that because the weapon was cursed with dark magic that there will be scarring. I suspect that the scars will fade over time, but they will likely always remain."

Tom sighed with resignation. "It's better to be alive and scarred than to be dead."

The matron smiled sadly. "Yes. I do hope you still feel that way once you actually see the wounds. I have to warn you. What you will see is quite...gruesome. Just be prepared." She then pulled the curtains closed around the hospital bed so that no one could walk by and see anything when she changed Tom's bandages. Then she began to remove the bandages.

Tom looked down at his chest as the bandages were removed, and his eyes widened in horror. He nearly screamed at what he saw and just barely restrained himself. Only a slight choking sound managed to escape. He would not freak out. He would not cry. No. Not here. Not now. He took several deep breaths in quick succession before motioning the matron to do what she needed to in order to treat him.

Once Tom was wrapped in new bandages, he tried to remain calm and prepare himself for more bad news and asked another question. "Were there any other injuries, or was that the full extent?"

The matron briefly closed her eyes and sighed. "There was also evidence of sexual assault."

"What?" Tom whispered. Surely the matron wasn't saying what he thought she was. But then he thought of the strange pain he'd noticed earlier and began to hyperventilate. He'd barely been keeping collected before, and this was the final straw.

"There was...trauma...and blood...and other fluids."

"So, it wasn't enough." The tears were falling now, and Tom couldn't stop them. "It wasn't enough for them to try to kill me? They had to take that too? I'll kill him! Whoever did this, I'll kill him! Tell me they caught the bastard who did this to me."

"We still don't know who attacked you."

Tom felt a whirlwind of emotions. He felt despair, and fury, and horror, and shame. He was forever ruined. The wounds on his chest would only look marginally better once he was fully healed. He'd have to see those awful marks all over his chest every day for the rest of his life. And what had been carved into him was just foul: mudblood whore. The words hadn't been carved into his skin neatly either. They were jagged and uneven. He'd have to see those awful words forevermore as well. And on top of nearly having been brutally murdered, it turned out that he'd been raped too, and it was obviously done viciously just like the rest of what had been inflicted upon him.

"Would you like me to stay with you?"

Tom shook his head.

"I'll leave these curtains closed for now if you'd like," the matron stated as she walked away from the hospital bed.

Tom nodded.

"Is there anyone you'd like me to have brought here?"

Tom had to focus his thoughts for a moment. Did he want anyone to see him right now? Did he want to see anyone? "Myrtle. Myrtle Warren."

"Anyone else?"

Tom shook his head. The only other person he was close with right now was Abraxas, and he couldn't bear to see him at that moment. What would Abraxas think now that he was damaged so extensively?

* * *

Myrtle shook with outrage when she learned what happened to Tom, her best and really her only friend at the school. He didn't deserve what had happened to him. What sort of monster had inflicted such violence upon him? Had someone been jealous that they couldn't have him? That was the best the two had been able to guess at during their discussions.

She knew that recently Tom rather comfortably had gone about his days with hickeys from Abraxas on his neck. Whatever had occurred over the winter break had led the two to become closer and more affectionate with each other even as they had grown more distant for some time prior. Abraxas had looked embarrassed while Tom had looked extremely satisfied when people had noticed the hickeys.

Tom and Abraxas still had issues though. While Abraxas had become more affectionate with Tom, he had become more demanding as well, but Tom wasn't willing to do much beyond kissing in large part because Abraxas still refused to commit to a relationship with him.

Myrtle had known it was only a matter of time before things ended, and she knew the relationship wouldn't last much longer.

Over a period of two weeks, Myrtle visited Tom in the Hospital Wing when she could so he could talk about whatever he wanted to with her. Sometimes he had a lot to say, and other times he had nothing to say at all. She knew that what he most needed was her presence.

Tom's absence didn't go unnoticed by the students, but no one knew exactly what had happened to him, and Myrtle refused to tell anyone out of respect for Tom's desire for privacy.

* * *

A couple days after being released from the Hospital Wing, Tom was walking down a corridor when he heard two witches gossiping. They didn't notice his presence.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"I heard Riddle was attacked by someone, not by some sort of beast."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but I think he deserved it. Didn't he? He was a total homewrecker. Maybe someone thought to put a stop to that."

"Oh, maybe. I don't know if he needed to get hurt by someone enough to end up in the Hospital Wing for several days though. Surely someone could have just spoken with him."

"Please. He knew what he was doing when he decided to get involved with an engaged pureblood. It's disgusting."

"You don't think that Malfoy holds any responsibility? I mean, he is the one who's engaged. He could have chosen to not have gotten involved with Riddle."

"Perhaps he just wanted some fun before he gets married. There's nothing wrong with that."

"But then what's so wrong about Riddle being involved with him?"

"I heard he wanted to have Malfoy all to himself, that he wanted a real relationship with him. Doesn't that sound like someone who's trying to get in the way of a marriage between Malfoy and his fiancee?

Tom turned down another corridor and walked away from the witches. Abraxas had been engaged? He'd had no idea.

He made his way to the Great Hall where the students were having breakfast.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tom hissed. He stood across from where Abraxas was seated at the Slytherin table.

"What?" Abraxas looked up in confusion.

"Why didn't you tell me you were engaged?"

"What do you mean? Why would I need to tell you?"

"You mean to tell me that you didn't think it was important for me to know?" Tom asked incredulously.

Abraxas furrowed his brows. "No. I mean, why would I need to tell you? My family put out an announcement in the Daily Prophet and sent out letters to most of the wizarding families in Britain shortly after."

"Have you forgotten that I'm an orphan who lives in a muggle orphanage? Do you not realize that I would not have seen any such announcement?"

Abraxas gaped for a moment. "Oh."

"Yes," Tom sneered.

"Well, it's not a big deal." Abraxas waved a hand dismissively. "You know now."

"Not a big deal? Of course it's a big deal!"

"Why would it be a big deal?"

"Because we're dating!"

"Since when?"

Tom spluttered. "You mean to tell me that you just go around kissing anyone?"

"Well, no." Abraxas thought for a moment. "I thought you understood we were just friends who were a bit... extra friendly. I'm not married yet, so I'm allowed to have fun with others."

Tom was quiet for a moment as realization began to dawn on him. "So that's why you were so against labeling us as anything more than friends. I thought you were just reluctant because we hadn't been together for long."

Tom continued to stand there, thoughts racing, and tried to control his breathing as dread washed over him coldly. "It's all your fault," he whispered, eyes downcast.

Abraxas scowled. "Come on, now. I didn't realize you thought things were more serious than they were, okay?"

"That's not what I'm talking about." Tom looked at his now former friend - because how could he not be a former friend now - with betrayal etched on his face. "It's your fault I was attacked."

"What?"

"It's your fault I was attacked," Tom repeated with more determination. "If you had ever once thought to mention you were engaged, I wouldn't have allowed for things to be 'extra friendly' between us. I would have pushed my feelings down and kept my distance. Instead, I was clueless and thought you felt as I did."

"How does that have anything to do with you being attacked?"

"Whoever attacked me thought I was dating you with the knowledge of you being engaged and thought I was trying to steer you away from your intended. And they clearly didn't want that to happen. I had thought before that perhaps someone was simply jealous that your affection was directed towards me instead of them, especially since I am widely believed to be a muggleborn."

"How are you so certain that's why you were attacked?" Abraxas still didn't understand.

"Because of the fucking words they carved into my chest."

Abraxas gasped in horror. "What?"

"Oh, you don't know, do you?" Tom smiled mockingly. "Of course you don't. I hadn't worked up the nerve to tell you before. You don't know exactly what they did to me. And I do say 'they' because there is no way that I was attacked by just one person. Oh no. There was definitely more than one person involved. I know it."

Tom clenched his hands and took a deep breath before he laid it all out. He was aware that the Great Hall was oddly quiet. People were, without a doubt, paying attention to this conversation, and what he was about to say next would certainly get people talking. It would be better for them to be talking about the truth than to be insulting him over lies and rumors though. There was nothing to be ashamed about. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was completely innocent in this situation.

"All you know is that I was attacked and that whatever was done to me was bad enough that I lost a lot of blood. But did you wonder what caused the blood loss? I'll tell you. I was stabbed several times with a dagger that was imbued with dark magic. You know, the kind of magic that doesn't let wounds heal, even with most healing spells and potions. Not only that, but in the off-chance I lived - as that is the only reason I can think of for why they did this - whoever attacked me decided to carve 'mudblood whore' on my chest with the very same dagger. It's absolutely horrible to look at even now that it's healed. I'm scarred for life in all likelihood. It's only because of Dumbledore's pet bird that I'm even alive."

Tom paused for a moment before continuing. "Of course, I suppose that doesn't really matter in the end. I know I won't be able to have any sort of love life now, so it'll only be myself who sees these awful scars. I had thought I could possibly continue things with you and that maybe you'd accept me still, but you never truly wanted me, and no one will ever want someone who's been mutilated as I have been. Besides, even if someone could come to tolerate the scars, I'm not so sure that I could be intimate with them... They fucking raped me, Abraxas. It wasn't enough for them to stab me and carve slurs on me, leaving me for dead. They took from me what I'd never given anyone, too."

Tom laughed humorlessly. "It's funny. The very thing I was, essentially, attacked for was for something I had never done because I wasn't ready. You wanted more, and I wasn't ready. I don't regret not doing it with you since you didn't truly return my feelings, but it is a shame, really, that I didn't ever get the chance to feel ready, and now... now I don't think I ever will."

With all that being said, Tom began to walk away from the table, before stopping abruptly and turning to face a dumbstruck Abraxas one last time. "Our friendship is over. Nothing you say can ever prevent what has already happened from happening. Also, you're practically married. Start acting like it, and quit trying to 'have fun' at the expense of everyone else. Your future wife, in the least, deserves better than that."

Tom turned away from Abraxas and walked away, out of the Great Hall. Only after he left did the silence end as students began to talk about what they witnessed.

* * *

William Hangleton Jr. got up from where he'd been seated at the Slytherin table during Riddle's rant at Abraxas and sauntered over to the latter. "You and your toy have an argument?" Will asked with amusement in his voice. He had actually eavesdropped and heard the entire conversation between Riddle and Abraxas.

Abraxas scowled. His mind was still reeling about what happened. "He's not 'my toy,' Will."

"Hmm, well, I suppose he isn't anymore."

"He never was."

"Oh, that's right. You spent all that time on the mudblood, and you never managed to get into his pants. What a waste of time. I did try to tell you."

"How many times do I have to tell you of all people that he's obviously not a mudblood?"

Will mused, "I wonder if I should take a go at him. You clearly weren't his type, and I'm sure he'd be all the more receptive to someone appearing to be interested in him now. He believes himself to be undesirable after all. He isn't wrong, but nonetheless, I'm sure he could provide some fun."

"That's disgusting," Abraxas spat.

"What's disgusting about it? You do insist he's not a mudblood."

Abraxas had no more patience for Will right now. "It's disgusting because he's your brother!" It was disgusting to Abraxas for other reasons as well, but he knew that trying to appeal to Will's better nature would have been pointless.

A look of surprise crossed Will's face. "Excuse me?"

"Are you really so blind you can't see it? It's been obvious to me for a long time. He looks just like your father, only younger."

Will didn't have a response to this, and it appeared as though several emotions were fighting for dominance on his face as he walked away without responding.

* * *

Olive Hornby was sitting with a friend at the Ravenclaw table not far from where Malfoy sat, so she had heard Riddle confront Malfoy and then Will taunt Malfoy. She felt sick.

Over the winter break, Olive's parents and Will's parents had arranged for the two to be married after Olive graduated from Hogwarts. She had felt quite excited at the time. Will was smart, handsome, and rich and had strong business and political connections. The same could be said of his parents, and her parents were likely already benefiting from the arrangement.

While she had been talking with Will once, he had mentioned how he didn't understand why Malfoy was hanging out with Riddle, and she didn't understand it either. She had mentioned how during the previous year Riddle had more or less threatened her after Myrtle had been attacked by Hagrid's acromantula.

Then they had seen Riddle walking around with hickeys covering his neck, looking pleased, while Malfoy had looked visibly embarrassed. It was easy to make the connection, especially once they saw the two interact.

Olive had been disturbed because she had known of Malfoy's engagement and got the impression that Riddle was trying to get Malfoy out of his engagement. He had shown no sign of feeling concerned about being a homewrecker. When she had mentioned that something needed to be done to put a stop to Riddle's behavior, her betrothed had been perfectly willing to be involved. In fact, he had done all of the planning, and his plan had involved very little participation on her end.

One night while Riddle was making his prefect rounds, Will had started up a conversation with him, and Olive had sent a full body-binding curse at Riddle from behind. Will had had Olive help him move Riddle into a nearby empty classroom before having her close the door and stand outside to keep an eye out for anyone coming by.

No one came by, and Olive didn't hear anything from within the classroom. After some time had passed, Will came out of the classroom with a wicked grin on his face but otherwise looked normal. He hadn't let her see into the classroom, nor had he told her what exactly he had done. He simply had told her that Riddle wouldn't bother Malfoy or her anymore. She hadn't thought to question him further at the time.

When news had spread around the school the days following the incident that Riddle had been injured by something or someone attacking him, she had felt unsettled a bit because she hadn't planned on him getting injured, but she had mostly brushed it off because whatever Will did had surely been necessary to get the point across.

Now that Olive heard the details of what Riddle had suffered at Will's hands, she was absolutely horrified. It was barbaric and savagely brutal. And then for Will to look amused, make light of what he did, pretend he knew nothing, and insinuate he would prey on Riddle again was sickening. And she was supposed to marry the monster?

She was terrified. If what Riddle suffered was what Will was willing to do to someone he hardly knew and didn't feel anything in particular towards, what would he do to her if she ever upset him? What would he do to her just out of his own twisted idea of fun even?

Olive knew she had to say something to someone. She knew there was a chance of getting expelled for her involvement even if her involvement hadn't been much, but she couldn't just pretend she didn't know and let that monster go through life with no one being the wiser. After all, what might he end up doing to others in the future?

It was time for her to act like the Gryffindor the Sorting Hat said she was, confess her wrongdoing, and hopefully prevent others from being harmed by Will in the future. But first, she vomited, right there at the Ravenclaw table, into her half-eaten bowl of porridge.

After Olive vomited in the Great Hall, she left the Ravenclaw table, claiming she was going to go to the Hospital Wing. In reality, she was going to go to the office of her Head of House, Professor Dumbledore. The notion of telling him everything made her nervous, especially since she knew he had been the one who had found Riddle after the incident, and she was also observant enough to realize her Head of House paid Riddle special attention even before the incident although she wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it had to do with that prophesy everyone said meant Riddle was to defeat Grindelwald.

When Olive reached the professor's office, she hesitated just briefly before knocking. There was no turning back now.

"Come in," came Professor Dumbledore's voice through the door.

Olive opened the door and closed it behind her immediately upon entering. She wrung her hands to ease her nerves. She wasn't sure how to begin.

"Ms. Hornby, what seems to be the matter?"

Olive took a deep breath before answering. "I know who attacked Riddle." She then proceeded to tell the Transfiguration professor everything, including her involvement and ending with what she'd overheard in the Great Hall just before coming to his office.

Professor Dumbledore did not interrupt her once. It was only after Olive finished speaking that the man spoke. "I'm disappointed, to say the least, to hear about your involvement, but it's good that you came forward. We will need to see Headmaster Dippet, and there will be an investigation. I cannot say with any certainty what consequences you will face for your actions nor how severe they will be, only that there will be consequences. It was quite terrible what happened to Mr. Riddle."

Olive nodded resignedly.

The professor quickly wrote a short letter, which he gave to his phoenix to deliver to the headmaster. Then, he and Olive left his office and headed towards the headmaster's office.


	14. What is Easy

**What is Easy**

 _Spring 1944 - Summer 1944_

Tom sat beneath a tree near the lake thinking. He had largely put aside his research on methods of obtaining immortality because he'd been distracted by his relationship with Abraxas and because the best method, as far as he could tell, would require him to kill someone.

He couldn't, in good conscience, kill someone innocent, only someone who deserved to die. He hadn't personally known of anyone who actually deserved to be murdered before, but he did know that whoever had attacked him certainly fit the criterium. If he ever found out who attacked him and the authorities didn't sink their claws into them first, he would kill them. He wouldn't feel guilty about it either.

He supposed he should feel bad that he could kill someone without remorse, but it wasn't as though it'd be an unprovoked killing. Whoever attacked him had hurt him first. Whoever had attacked him had tried to kill him in a very painful, unnecessarily cruel way. He would see to it that whoever had attacked him suffered just as he had.

It didn't matter that he couldn't remember what had happened. The injuries spoke for themselves. There was no way that his attacker or attackers had been so vicious with the injuries they had inflicted upon him with him being unconscious the entire time. Violence to the degree his injuries showed indicated that they had wanted him to suffer. It was far more likely that he was fully aware of what happened as it happened and was just obliviated afterwards as a precaution. Whoever attacked him wanted him to be upset and afraid while suffering no reprecussions themselves for their actions.

Tom knew that it was probably better for his psyche that he couldn't remember what had happened to him, but at the same time, if he remembered what had happened to him, he'd know exactly what had happened and who had attacked him. There were ways to make someone suffer that didn't leave a lasting mark on someone's body, so Tom had no way of knowing if the injuries he was aware of were the full extent of what he'd suffered. He suspected that whoever had attacked him had used such methods along with leaving behind the injuries he was aware of. It just made him all the more angry.

After Tom spent some time quietly fuming and plotting revenge, Myrtle found him, sat down next to him, and leaned against his side. "Everyone's talking about you. I heard about what you told Abraxas. Are you really not going to be friends with him anymore? I don't think he was involved in what happened to you."

Tom scowled. "He still led me on and is responsible for what happened to me."

"I think he was just stupid."

"I can agree with that."

"So what have you been doing out here?"

"Thinking about revenge."

"Against Abraxas?"

"No. Against whoever attacked me. I don't need to do anything to Abraxas. Everyone knowing that he was the only one who knew he was engaged while we were involved will hurt his reputation sufficiently and bolster mine. I'm also somewhat hoping he gives me his pet snake as an attempt to make up to me. He knows I'm fond of it. I'd accept it without renewing the friendship of course."

Myrtle cackled briefly. "Your Slytherin side is showing."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "You say that like you didn't just cackle about it. You actually cackled, Myrtle."

"Fair."

Tom sighed, stood up, and stretched.

"Where are you going?" Myrtle asked while Tom was in mid-stretch.

"To see Headmaster Dippet. I...I'm done with being a prefect."

"But Tom—"

"No. I can't do it anymore, Myrtle. And it's not just because whoever attacked me is still out there. I don't know what exactly they did, but I have nightmares of what might have happened. I feel uncomfortable walking around the castle, especially in areas that are darker or have fewer students passing through. I can't do it. A prefect is supposed to be there to assist other students and ensure other students don't have or get into any trouble. How am I supposed to do that when I can't do the same for myself? I'm done."

"If that's what you feel is best..." Tom had been on his way to becoming Head Boy, and she knew that that had been a goal of his. He took his prefect duties seriously, just like anything else he committed to. It was sad that he felt the need to give up on that.

"I do."

* * *

When Tom knocked on the door of the headmaster's office, he was surprised to find that it didn't open and that no one answered it. He heard people, several people, in fact, speaking in the room. The conversations were loud enough to know people were discussing something but not loud enough that his knocks should have gone unheard.

He knocked again, much harder and louder this time. He wanted to get this over with. Now someone answered.

Dumbledore opened the door a bit but didn't allow Tom to enter. That was odd.

Even odder was that, despite having his entrance blocked, Tom noticed several aurors in the room. Something serious must have happened.

"My boy, is something the matter?" Dumbledore asked.

Tom fidgeted slightly, feeling awkward. He knew the professor was the one who had found him after he'd been attacked, but he hadn't actually spoken to the professor since before the attack.

Tom cleared his throat and steeled himself. "I just wanted to inform the headmaster that I'm resigning from my position as prefect." He took his prefect badge off his chest and held it out in his hand for the professor to take.

"Are you certain this is what you want to do?" Dumbledore asked with a pitying expression on his face.

"Yes."

At that, Dumbledore took the badge. "I will let Headmaster Dippet know. Was there anything else?"

Tom shook his head.

"In that case, I must return to the discussion we were having before you arrived."

Tom nodded. Before turning away, he said "Oh and I wanted to thank you...for helping me." Then he took the stairs down from the headmaster's office, not waiting for a reply.

Albus shut the door once Tom disappeared from his line of vision, holding the boy's prefect badge in his hand.

The headmaster looked at Albus once he turned around and asked "Who was it? What did they want?"

Albus walked over to the large desk in the room and set down the prefect badge on it. "It was Tom Riddle. He resigned from being a prefect."

"What? But he was the top choice for Head Boy next year!"

"I know. I believe he knows that as well."

"Well, we could always make him Head Boy without continuous service as a prefect."

"You could make that offer to him, but I doubt he'd be inclined to take it. Besides, there is the possibility that he may not even be at Hogwarts next year. The Triwizard Tournament will be held at Beauxbatons after all. He may wish to enter."

The headmaster's eyes lit up at that. "Oh, yes. I had forgotten about that. He would be an excellent champion."

An auror in the room cleared her throat. "As riveting at this conversation is, I do believe we have other matters we were discussing that we should get back to."

"Ah, yes. Go on," the headmaster responded.

The auror continued. "We will be arresting William Hangleton Jr. and removing him from the school, along with Olive Hornby."

Olive sat in a chair off to the side of the room, cuffed with magic-binding handcuffs and crouched in on herself. She remained silent though she shook with fear.

"Is that really—"

"Yes, it's necessary, Mr. Dippet! A student was raped and very nearly murdered. Yes, they will both be removed. Ms. Hornby's statement does not clear her of any wrongdoing, and we must conduct an investigation to determine who exactly was involved and what role anyone involved played. She may be withholding information!"

"Will you inform their parents, or should we?"

"I will. Their parents need to fully understand the severity of their charges. Plus, legally, we can't just detain minors without ever informing their parents or guardians about it."

A knock came from the door, and Albus said "That must be Mr. Hangleton. I had a student tell him that the headmaster needed to see him." He went over the door and opened it to let Will enter.

Once Will was inside the office, he heard the door shut behind him and froze as he took in the scene. Both Dumbledore and Dippet were there along with five aurors and Olive, who was handcuffed.

William decided to play ignorant. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Mr. Hangleton, you are under arrest for the rape and attempted murder of Tom Riddle."

Will groaned internally. Olive! He knew she said something. No one would have found out otherwise. And of all the aurors to be put on the case it was this woman? She was a big thorn in his father's side. He knew because his father complained often enough about her. If it wouldn't have looked too suspicious, he would've had her taken out years ago. "Excuse me?"

"We have enough evidence to indicate your involvement in the rape and attempted murder of a fellow student, so you are under arrest. Your parents will, of course, be informed, and you do have the right to an attorney." The auror's mouth scrunched up like she'd just eaten something sour.

Internally, Will smirked. They both knew his father would get him the best attorney out there. He could afford it. And if the case went to trial before the Wizengamot, many were allied with his father or would be with enough money thrown at them, so chances were high that he'd spend no time in Azkaban at all.

Will glanced at Olive. How much could he spin to pin on her?

No matter. This whole thing was just a formality. And that was why the auror looked so sour: She knew it too.

* * *

It didn't take long for the news to spread after Will and Olive were arrested and taken away from the school. The Daily Prophet had an article about the arrest of two students involved in the assault of another student. No names were mentioned in the paper, and the details that were provided were few and mostly vague, but all the students and staff at Hogwarts knew who was involved.

Tom felt as though he was under the spotlight even more than usual, and it made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. He'd rather everyone go back to focusing on him being their possible future savior. There were still students who blamed him for what had been done to him, shockingly enough.

Myrtle stuck by Tom's side through it all and helped him find ways to get away from all the unwanted attention. And when Tom became too stressed, she held him or ran her fingers through his hair to comfort him.

Shortly after Will and Olive were arrested, aurors had questioned Tom, and he had been examined at St. Mungo's. It turned out that he hadn't actually been obliviated but instead had had a block put on his memories that could only be undone by the spellcaster. It was harder to erase a memory entirely than to just lock it away.

The real evidence that existed was what the matron had collected in a rape kit the night Tom had been attacked. While the wizarding world may not have had DNA testing, they had something similar that involved magical signatures. In the end, they were able to determine that the semen belonged to Will.

It was during the middle of the summer that Will and Olive had their trials. Tom was required to be present although he had little testimony he could actually provide due to his lack of memory of the incident.

In the end, neither Will nor Olive was sentenced to any time in Azkaban. They just had fines of different amounts to pay to the court. Olive's family ended the engagement between her and Will prior to the start of the trial as well.

Tom understood that Olive had been largely ignorant and had some involvement but not much in the incident, so her sentence didn't bother him much. Will's sentence made him feel sick with righteous anger about the injustice of the situation. However, Tom had already thought something like this might happen, so it just meant it was time to enact Plan B.

* * *

A couple weeks after the trial, it was reported in the Daily Prophet that William Hangleton had committed a murder-suicide, killing his son and then himself. Will's body had been found with injuries that were comparable to the ones Tom had received from Will months prior. In comparison, William himself had a much cleaner death as far as anyone could tell.

The truth of the matter was that Tom was responsible for both their deaths. He'd used the body-binding curse on Will while using the imperius curse on his father. Tom had William use legilimency on his son to see what he'd inflicted on Tom and then had him enact the same violence onto Will, with the exception of the words carved into his body and the lack of a mental block put on him. Tom didn't watch the incident although he stayed in the room as everything happened. Once William finished inflicting the violence upon Will, Tom had William kill the both of them.

William's death wasn't just a necessity for Tom's revenge: It was integral. As William had once taken away Merope's autonomy and life and likely that of many other women as well, so too did Tom take away his. William also had been the reason Will didn't end up in Azkaban. He was the one with the connections and the money.

The very same day that Tom Riddle killed his relatives he turned Slytherin's locket into a horcrux. It hurt but not as much as he'd expected. He supposed it was because of the feelings he had after committing murder not in self-defense but revenge. His soul had torn from the experience. Psychologically, he'd been torn for far longer.

That night the memories of Will's assault against him came slamming back into his mind as a nightmare. The memories had unlocked upon Will's death but were processed by his brain as he slept.

Tom ended up visiting vampires frequently after that as a coping mechanism. They could take away his pain if only for a little while.


End file.
